Into the Void
by Halariel
Summary: The Void. It is ever growing, consuming and adapting. It's cruel and without any mercy. Those who came in contact with it are irrevocably changed. A small boy without family and a little girl, who was ripped away from hers, meet in one of the most cruel places in existence. What will happen from there onwards though, remains to be seen...
1. Prologue

**Chapter 1: Prologue**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own League of Legends or Harry Potter, those belong to their respective owners. Im just toying with their characters and worlds**

Prologue

The Void. No one truly knows what it is. Well, those few who even know of it's existence that is.

Some people say it is evil incarnate. In the opinion of others it is, like it's name suggests, truly nothing. And some others again insist that it is simply another world.

But they all aren't fully right. The Void is much, much more than that.

Let me explain it with the metaphore of the wise men and the elephant:

Once upon a time there was a king. He had five advisors. Everyone of them was wise, intelligent and smart. But they also were all blind. One day the king heard of a mystical beast; the elephant. He wanted to know what it looks like, and thus he sent his advisors to find one. The advisors did so and, after a long and tiring journey, they arrived in the country of India. They were brought before the ruler of the country and asked their request. They were granted to see, or rather touch an elephant to don the information to their king. Each one of the advisors examined a different part of the animal.

One touched the legs, another the ears. Then one did the same with the elephant's trunk, another one sat on its back and the last one got to grip its tail.

They all were delighted and sped to their home in order to enlighten their king. But when they arrived in the royal palace and told the king what they had experienced, they argued about who of them was right. One claimed an elephant was a tall grey beast that resembles a pillar made of muscle. Another one denied that and said an elephant was like a pair of two big, leathery sails that can move at will. The one who got a grip on the trunk insisted that an elephant is a kind of snake that can utter loud, trumpet-like sounds. Another one said that an elephant was a vast mass of thick, leathery skin and muscle, easily capable of carrying a grown man, and the last one told the king that an elephant is just a tiny worm with some hair on its head.

But despite all the disputes and arguments the king just laughed. His advisors stopped and were confused at his amusement. They asked him what was wrong and he told them this:

"I thank you, my loyal advisors. Thanks to you I now know what an elephant looks like. It has legs that resemble pillars, big ears and a long nose that can produce the sound of a trumpet. An elephant is big in size with a vast, strong back and it poesses a small tail with some hair on its end."

The king, contrary to his advisors, was wise. He didn't insist on just one aspect; from the very beginning he saw a much bigger picture. And it is all the same with the Void. You need to see it in a bigger picture. A much bigger picture.

But what _is_ this Void exactly?

The answer isn't quite simple. In fact, it is particularily difficult to explain anything about the Void. It is a lot of things, you see, not just one of them. We don't know much about it, but it is certain that the Void is a place. The Void is a dark world, the space between the universes. It fills the great nothing between the dimensions and holds them in line. It is like the thread that sewed the entire fabric of reality together.

But the Void is not just one thing. It is a place, a whole world of it's own, alright, but this isn't everything about it. The Void is alive. It is a giant, living dimension of its own, constantly changing, adapting and evolving. It seeks to consume and assimilate everything that it can get a hold on.

Despite what people may think the Void is not a passive spectator. It constantly tries to consume and get stronger. And this leaves lots of questions. Questions I am afraid no one is able to answer.

Why does it try to consume everything?

How does it do that?

Will it ever stop doing this?

But what we do know for certain is that everywhere where the Void or any of its inhabitants for that matter interacted with the other universes great things happened. Often brutal, mostly horrendous, rarely good. But they were always great, oh yes.

Also, despite what its name suggests, the Void is not an empty place. It is alive in its very own sense. And like every living being it has children as well. They are twisted and wretched and by no means anywhere near normal but they are the offspring of the very Void itself. These creatures are called "Children of the Void" or mostly just "Voidlings" or "Voidspawns". They are huge in numbers, often huge in size, monstrous looking and always, _always_ , deadly. Their only purpose in the beginning was to adapt and consume and to spread the void everywhere they go. And they still do this until today, albeit much more inconspicous than in the beginning. It's the reason why so few people know about the Void: Either they don't witness its actions and stay ignorant of its existence (what you do not know you do not miss after all) or they are killed and devoured immediately by a Voidspawn upon discovering it.

In the Void there is only one principle: "Survival of the fittest". Only the strong and smart survive, while the weak and dumb are getting devoured and consumed by their kin. In the Void there is not place nor time for love, pity or anything like this.

Anyways thats the normal way of life in the Void. You fight, you win, you evolve, you fight more, and so on until you either die or manage to escape into one of the outer universes.

But there are also beings from the outer dimensoins who gazed into the Void, interacted with it, survived that encounter and ultimately changed. These select few who are strong enough to not succumb to its alluring call are granted extraordinary powers. This strength is not determined by physical or spiritual or even magical strength. No one knows what makes a living being fit to resist this dark callings. it is an unkown mystery why there are people who can harness this twisted and unholy powers.

For everyone could become such a being. an emmisary of the Void, if you want. Be it a simple animal, a normal father of a normal family, plants, or even a helpless newborn. The Void doesn't seem to care. It only seeks its own gain and has its own twisted purposes that we normal humans can't even begin to comprehend.

One thing tough we do understand about the Void:

It never, ever does something without an ulterior motive.

Never.

 **A/N (!important!):** **So, this was the prologue for my story. Its a rewrite of "Son of the Void", which was my very first fanfic-attempt. I admit it was kinda messy and without structure, so I really had** **to do something about it. And thats how this rewrite came to be. But now,** **the important part:**

 **As you might have noticed, my take on the Void of League of Legends is a bit different than the actual canonical version. Essentially my idea is this:**

 **The Void is a giant, semi-conscious Universe of its own. The rules of reality, physics and all this stuff do not exist there. Or better, they don't work all the time. The caves in which we see Kai'Sa in the comics for example are just a tiny part of the actual Void.**


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own League of Legends or Harry Potter, those belong to their respective owners. Im just toying with their characters and worlds**

 **Chapter One**

Harry Potter had always known that he wasn't your average 10-year old. He always knew that he was special in some way. It wasn't something you would instantly be aware of, though. For his outer appearance always had seemed quite normal. Sure, he may be a bit on the scrawny side. And this jagged scar on his forehead _was_ kind of odd. But all in all nothing about this young boy would have hinted at what was hidden deep inside of him. And even if you knew some of his hidden talents, or better, powers, most people wouldn't have made a fuss about it. But no one knew about them. Partly, because Harry had always been a very sneaky kid, who somehow had a natural affinity to just... blend in, for the lack of a better word. And partly because people seemed to just forget ever having met him after while. Like someone or something erased the memories straight out of their minds.

But what exactly did make this child so special?

Well, for once, he was fairly mature. He didn't behave like a normal 10 year old. Sometimes not even like a normal human. His behavior often resembled that of an agitated animal; always tense, wary and somehow very calculating. Always ready to prowl, without mercy or even a spark of compassion. In the inside he just seemed to be empty and cold.

His regeneration was just absurdly fast. No matter what kind of injury he suffered, in a matter of days, often even mere hours everything would've gotten back to normal. Be it broken bones, burn wounds or ripped tendons. As long as it didn't kill him outright he was able to recover from virtually every injury.

Another of his strange abilities was the unnerving talent to just blend in perfectly with his surroundings, giving him a really sneaky, but also rather creepy air, which was able to scare most childs and even some adults.

And last, but certainly not least: his memory. Since, well, since he could remember Harry had never forgotten a single thing. Everything he had ever seen and experienced was always fresh on his mind. Like it had happened just yesterday. And it weren't only pictures he could remember. Also sounds, smells and even emotions he experienced years ago were always ever present on his mind. But why he had these powers was a mystery even to himself.

But, even though he possesed all these amazing abilities, nothing could have prepared him for the things that were yet to come.

It all began one beautiful saturday morning during spring.

"Boy!", a shrill voice shouted.

It was a sunny, albeit still a bit chilly day when Harry awoke.

"Get up Boy!", the voice snarled and a hand knocked harshly at the door of Harrys room.

The sun was shining, the birds were chirping and the trees had already begun to become green again.

The knocking intesified. "I swear, if you don't get up this instant, I will-"

Harry opened the door of his room (aka a small cuboard beneath the stairs), silencing his aunt effectively.

Petunia Dursley was a very tall and very thin woman with blue eyes and mousy brown hair. Maybe she had been pretty when she was younger, but the pregnancy with her son Dudley, as well as her age haven't been really kind to her. She worked out regularly and even dyed her hair in order to look better, but Harry always felt reminded of a horse when he looked at her. Privately he couldn't wait for the day when she would start neighing.

A hard slap on his cheek pulled him out of his thoughts and back to reality.

"Next time you do what I say at once", she reprimanded him. "Is that clear?"

"Yes aunt Petunia" Harry answered "It won't happen again"

"I hope so", his aunt said. "Anyways, I have to do some groceries, so you will stay here and clean the house. Aunt Marge will be coming this evening and I want her to find anything as clean as possible"

Dread setteled in Harrys stomach. "A-Aunt Marge is going to visit us?"

Petunia noticed his trembling voice and shot him a pityful look.

"Indeed. So you'd better do your best. Understood?"

Harry nodded, too distraught to do anything else.

 _This is bad_ Harry concluded later this morning. _This is really, really bad._ He knew aunt Marge and he knew what would happen to him if she visited the Dursleys again. Especially if she brought Ripper, her goddammed bulldog with her. She would never miss a chance to let her dog rush on Harry. And when the beast would catch him (for it wasn't a question of _if_ but _when_ ) the results... were never pretty to say the least. Harry knew that the Durselys didn't treat him the same way as Dudley, but they never had intentionally hurt him. Shouted at him, yes. Locked him in his cuboard as well. Even stared him for several days. But they never would use violence against him.

With Vernons sister Marge though, it was an entirely different matter. The Dursleys wouldn't stop her if she did anything to Harry. Or her dog for that matter. She was also the reason why Harry was tormented by an insane amount of fear for every canine that he encountered. Be it a pug, a bulldog or even a chihauha, solely the barking would make him shiver. And even though his wounds would heal after a few days the pain was still very vivid in his meomories. So what could he do?

He already had tried to outrun the dog several times, but he had failed everytime. So, that wasn't an option. He could try to hide, to use his strange ability to just fade out of sight, but since the dog would smell him, that plan was also rendered pretty much useless.

So there were only two options left:

Option number one: He had to endure it. The dammned beast had never killed him before, so neither would it this timey right?

Option number two: He could try to run away before Marge would arrive.

 _So, what should I choose?_ , Harry asked himself.

He pondered over that question for while, but finally came to an conclusion. Running away might work, albeit not for long. He would be found and brought back to the Dursleys soon enough. Also, who knows what might happen to him on the street? At least the Dursleys gave him water, food and a place to sleep. And, despite it being spring, the nights still were pretty cold. Additionally, at Privet Drive the Dursleys were there to guarantee his survival. He rembered that everytime Marges dogs had hurt him to a certain degree his uncle Vernon would stand up and demand her to call her dogs back. And, suprisingly, she did everytime. So Harry decided against running away.

"Still", he murmured to himself "I won't go down without a fight. If that darned dog wants to bite me I'll sure as hell bite it back" He grinned and if anyone would've been there to observe him in that moment, then they might have noticed the cruel, almost feral glint in Harrys eyes. And if this observers would have looked really, really closeley, then maybe they even saw that, albeit only for a split second, his eyes flashed from a vivid green to a deep, unearthly purple...

It was evening when the doorbell rang and the peaceful (or in Harrys case dreadful) silence of Privet Drive 4, Surrey was shattered. And in exactly that moment Harrys Plan was set into motion. He had calculated it perfectly. Had envisioned it over and over in his mind.

At first, when Marge entered the house she would ignore him in favour of the Dursleys as usual. Next, she'd turn to him and give him her clothes and bag to carry them to into the guest bedroom. When he would come back, her dog would growl and try to snap at him. Usually Harry would take a step back and avoid eye contact with the mutt. But this time he'd do things differently. He wouldn't waver. Wouldn't give it even the slightest hint that he was scared. He once listened to a show that was on the telly (in secret of course, he wasn't allowed to use the TV at all) and there it was said that dogs and other feral animals were able to smell it when those they saw as prey would feel strong emotions like fear and terror. So Harry decided to signalise Marges dog right away that he wasn't one to be messed with.

The next step was always dinner. He had to help Petunia in the kitchen and was reponsible for the dishes. While he would be doing the dishes he'd steal a little knife and hide it in his pocket. Just to be able to defend himself a bit.

Then came the hardest part which Harry nearly dreaded the most; the hunt, as he liked to call it. While the Durselys would be sitting in the living room Marge always _accidently_ dropped her dogs leash, thus enabling it to start prowling on Harry. Mostly she justified doing so by "punishing the brats bad manners". Normally he'd try to flee from the dog, or try to scare it away, but that had never worked out before. Thus he decided to bite in the sour apple and fight the beast. When he was going down, he'd make sure that he'd hurt the dog just as much as it would hurt him. Thats also why he was going to snuck away the knife. Usually the "fight" (if you could even call it that) would take place in the garden, which is why Harry would ensure that the door to the garden would be open. Best he would be alone. He didn't really know why he wanted to be alone with the dog, but something told him it would be the best for him. And if Harry was certain of one thing, then that he'd do best to listen to his instincts. The dog always let him be after a while. It just bit him a few times, spilled some blood and then would retreat back into the house, letting him regenerate over the course of the next few hours.

And after that? Well, after that Harry would dream. He would smell strange flavours, hear voices talking, feel foreign things on his skin, and would taste otherworldly foods on his tongue. But no matter what he dreamt of, it always terrified him. It didn't hurt, or scared him, not really. But the sheer helplessness he would feel alsways horrified Harry. He had no control whatsoever over his situation, he wouldn't be able to see (his favourite sense of all) and would be unnerved even for days after the dream. That's why he dreaded Marges visits. It wasn't because of the pain. Pain was something he could handle. All pain fades after a certain amount of time. But this dreams were an entirely different matter. Somehow, they always gave him the feeling that he was not alone in his body. And that thought scared, for the lack of a better expression, the living hell out of him.

But enough of that. Harry had to focus on the present. The doorbell rang again and he already heard the barking of one Marges dogs. Petunia, Vernon and Dudley hurried to the door, with Harry in tow.

"Marge!", Vernon boomed happily after he opened the door. His voice overtuned even the doogs barking.

"How long has it been?", he asked after he had hugged his sister.

"Oh, you know, it has been a while", Marge Dursley boomed equally loud as Vernon.

Marge was big woman. While not as fat as her younger brother she was by no means small. Dirty blonde hair covered her head and her beady, brown eyes scanned the room. Upon discovering Harry her brows furrowed and her eyes glinted with uncealed malice. Behind her a large, black bulldog began to bark and tear at its leash.

 _Crap_ , Harry thought _It's Ripper._

Ripper was easily the most agressive and ferocious of Marges twelve bulldogs and seemed to posess something akin to hatred for Harry. He had no idea at all why this could be the case, but fact was that this particular dog hated his guts and surely would love to sink his teeth in just those.

Even though Ripper had stopped to bark after a sharp order from Marge he still leered at Harry. Saliva dribbled from his maw and a low growl escaped his throat. Harry meanwhile was determined to not show any fear. He swallowed the lump in his throat and locked eyes with the dog. And, oh wonder, it worked! A little bit. Ripper stopped his growl and blinked in simething akin to confusion. Even Harry was suprised. A smile spread on his face and he shot a triumphant look in Marges direction. But as soon as he broke eye contact with Ripper the dog started to bark even louder than before, thus reminding the Dursleys of Harrys presence.

Without a word Marge pushed he considerably large coat onto Harry, expecting him to hang it on the hook. and in doing so she effectively shoved him onto the hard floor. A cruel grin spread on her rather obese face and she followed the Dursleys into the house, pulling Ripper with her.

Even though he was familiar with the procedure, Harry couldn't help but being angry. This condescending treatment infuriated him every time. He halfheartedly thought about opening the door and trying to run away right now. At least the giant coat would be more than enough of a blanket for him. But again something told him not to do that. And even though he still had no idea who or even what this, well, not really voice, but more a certain feeling, was, he dismissed the idea of running away.

 _Next time_ , he swore to himself. _Next time we will run away and never ever come back._

 _If there will even be a next time that is..._ , _a_ more cynical part of his mind thought.

 **45 minutes and 5 dishes later:**

The big moment was there. The Dursleys had finished their meal and the "hunt" would soon be beginning. Harry silently stood at the wall, near the open garden door. He had a small knife, made for cutting fruit, in his pocket and grapped it nervously. Ripper had been lying near Marges feet throughout the whole meal and seemed to sleep peacefully. But Harry could tell that he wasn't. Occasionally his eyes would open and look at him, or the dog would lift its head and sniff the air. His leash was held loosely in Marges hand. She had just told the Dursleys that Ripper hadn't been fed for a whole day and therefore would be very eager to strech his legs a little bit. As soon as she had said that she let go of Rippers leah. The effect was instantaneous; he jumped from his spot, gave a triumphant bark and shot in Harrys direction. The hunt was on.

Harry meanwhile wasted no time and ran through the open door and out in the rather large garden. His destination was clear: the big tree near the fence. If he was able to get up there then he'd be safe from Ripper and any attacks he might try.

The tree was about 30 Meters away from him at the moment. If he just could make it there before Ripper then-

RAWOOF!

A loud bark disturbed his thougts. He turned around and saw Ripper behind him. Saliva flew from his mouth and his lips were curled back, exposing his teeth. He was gaining on Harry.

20 meters.

 _Don't look back,_ Harry chanted in his head. _Don't look back, he's not there, he won't get you, just keep running, don't stumble, or you won't make it up the tree, Harry. You need your run-up to do this._

10 Meters.

He was nearly there. Just a few more steps and he'd be safe!

5 meters.

So close! He was so close! Just one more step and he'd be-

Something heavy landed on him and Harry fell head first into the dirt. A burning pain erupted in his right shoulder and Harry screamed. Ripper was laying on him and had bitten into his shoulder. He tried to get up, but the dog was too heavy. He was just a frail 10-year old child after all.

 _The knife!_ , it shot through his head. Despite the pain he grabbed into his pocket and took out the small knife. He took it and swung it blindly at the beast on his back. A loud yelp could be heard and the weight on his back disappeared. Harry turned around and tried to stand up. Ripper cowered some steps before him. a small, but nontheless painful gash was visible on his back. The dog turned around and growled angrily. He ducked and his muscles tensed. He was ready to jump.

Harry grapped his knife so hard that his knuckles turned white.

"Come on!", he shouted defiantly. And Ripper came for him. He jumped, and even though Harry tried to sidestep the dog still landed on him and tackled him down. The air was pressed out of his lungs and the knife flew out of his hand. Ripper opened his jaws and aimed for Harrys throat but Harry was able to block the attack with his arm. Rippers mouth closed around it and snapped shut. Pain erupted as his skin was pierced and his frail bones cracked. He tried to move his arm, but to no avail.

Ripper let go of his extremity and tried to bite Harrys throat again. But in the meanwhile he had found what he had searched for: his knife. He grapped it and stabbed it to the hilt in Rippers left flank. The dog howled out loud in pain but didn't stop his onslaught. On the contrary, he seemed to become mad with rage and bit down on Harry again. And this time he hit his enemy sucessfully.

Harry managed to twist his head out of the way and thus Rippers jaws merely closed around Harrys other shoulder. Pain erupted again, but this time it was different. Somehow he felt quite numb. And then, suddenly...

Rage.

Pure, unadultered rage streamed through Harrys body. The fury seemed to spark a fire within him, that hadn't been there before. Harrys vision turned more and more red. No, not red. Purple. His sight became sharper and clearer and time seemed to slow down. Suddenly only one thought filled his mind;

HUNGER.

It was overwhelming. Never before had he felt so hungry. Never before had he felt anything as strong as this. He couldn't even think of anything else. Consequently he did the most obvious thing to satiate his hunger:

He turned and twisted his body and bit Ripper. He didn't know how, or why his teeth managed to penetrate Rippers skin. He didn't even notice that they did until he tasted a foreign liquid in his mouth. No, it wasn't entirely foreign. He knew this taste. He had tasted it once before. In one of this strange dreams that he always had when he was badly hurt. And it tasted good.

Now it was Ripper who howled out loud in pain and anguish. But Harry didn't care. He turned around and trapped Rippers body between his and the earth with an unnatural strength that even the monstrous dog wasn't able to overcome.

Again and again did Harry tear into Rippers flesh. Without thought without regret, without mercy. He bit everything that happened to get between his teeth. Rippers legs, the flank, even the head.

Not even a two minutes had passed since the hunt had begun when Marge came out into the garden. The loud howls of her favourite dog had alarmed her and she wanted to see what was going on. But she would never forget what she saw out there under the tree.

Her dog lied, bloody and beaten, on the ground. Harry was bent over him. His mouth was bloody, his shoulders torn and covered in red. And his eyes pulsed in a deep, unnatural purple. No iris, no pupil, nothing was visible. Just a swirling vortex of violet. Quite opposite to his normally green irises.

"OH MY GOD!", she shouted and wobbled as fast as she could towards Rippers broken form. The downed dog was still breathing, albeit barely. His whole right flank was bloody and torn, one of his legs broken, so much flesh ripped away that the bone was visible.

Harry backed away, slowly waking up from his rampage. His head hurt. All four Dursleys had gathered in the garden. Their eyes were filled with fear and hatred. But Harry didn't care. All he knew was that his head hurt like hell. The pounding grew stronger and stronger, eventually overtuning everything.

His whole world began to spin and he sank to the ground, curling into a fetal position. Darkness crept alongside his eyes, slowly but surley blackening his vision. His eyes grew heavy and darkness encompassed Harry. Something warm and wet crept up alongside him, until it had covered him completely. And finally, the pounding i his head stopped. And the dream began.

 **Welp folks, that's it. The first chapter of Into the Void! Took me certainly a while to write. The whole beginning might seem a bit unstructured and maybe even chaotic. But I can assure you, that in time a lot of unasnewerd questions will be answered. But, what did you think? Any opinions, questions, or maybe even advise?**

 **English is not my first language so my grammar, my expressions and/or my tenses might be a bit faulty. I apologize for that and I hope that my english will improve over time!**

 **Cya in the next chapter!**


	3. Chapter2

**Disclaimer: See Chapter One**

 **Chapter Two**

It was dark. So dark. He was surrounded by nothing but blackness. No matter how hard he tried, regardless how much effort he put in penetrating the dark blanket that seemed to lay upon his eyes, it wouldn't budge. And it terrified him. He had always been fond of his eyesight and he feared the times at night when he wasn't able to see.

He knew this wasn't real. It was just another dream, after all. And he knew that he feared the dreams more than everything else. He tried to remember why exactly it was that he feared them so much.

But he couldn't. His mind seemed to be made out of jelly. His memories just wouldn't come back to him. He knew that they were there, somewhere deep inside his head. Just a tiny bit out of his reach. But they wouldn't react.

Slowly a sense of dread settled within his stomach. He never forgets a thing! No matter what, he always remembers! He remembers everyting! But not now. Now he just floated in this darkness. Now he wasn't even aware of his own name! So he just continued trying to remember something.

He didn't know how much time had passed since he woke up in this dark void that he was currently in. Was it minutes? Days? Decades? His sense of time was completely lost. Another thing of everything this dark place had taken from him.

There was no sound. There had never been any sound. What a peculiar word... _Sound_. He thought about it. What was this _sound_? Had he ever heard it before? No, thats impossible! He had always been here.

Here?

But where it this _here_? What is this here? He knew things and concepts that made no sense to him. Sound. Here. Memory. All this things, all this strange words were just that for him. Words. Words without any meaning or sense. But one word he knew the meaning of:

Alone.

He knew that he was alone. He knew what it meant. It meant that he was on his own. It meant that there was no one and nothing with him here. There was it again! This peculiar word again! _Here_... He tried to think of its meaning, but doing so provoked a shot of trobbing pain throughout his entire being. Thus he chose to stop thinking about it. To be more precise, he chose to stop thinking altogether.

He was still on his own. He had stopped thinking long ago. Or was it short ago? Again the pain shot through him.

 _Thinking hurt. Thinking is bad_ , he concluded. So he stopped doing it once more.

 **ItV**

The dark doesn't hurt. The dark is good. He decided to embrace the dark. And once more he drifted away, blissfully ignorant of everything.

He was peacefully floating in the dark when it happend. The disturbance announced its arrival without any warning. He had long since stopped to think so in the beginning he didn't even realise what had happened around him. It happened with a sound. A quiet, bubbly hissing reached his ear. He didn't know this feeling, this sensation. Surely it had a name. But he just couldn't be bothered to remember.

Then, light. It was subtle at first, but quickly got brighter and brighter. From absolute black to dark purple. From dark purple over violett to bright pink. From bright pink to... What is that? He saw things, but didn't understand them. It had Eyes, alright. But thats it. Its top and lower face were white. He hearad voices, but didn't understand the words. he blinked. Once. Twice. Nothing happened.

Again the voices.

Suddenly a strange, small device appeared in his field of view. A quiet click was heard. Then came the pain.

 ** _PAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAIN_**

He couldn't see. Everything was white. Everything hurt. Everywhere was pain.

How could this have happened? Why did this happen?

Only a moment before he had been enclosed by his beautiful darkness. He had been happy, he had been safe.

And then, white. Horrible, terrible, agonizing white.

And pain. So much pain. He screeched loudly, partially in pain, partially in terror. He couldn't see! Everything was bright! So, so bright! HE wanted it gone! The whitewas bad, the white was terrible!

He wanted it to stop. He wished for nothing else. But his prayers weren't heard.

The white continued to torture him. And he continued to screech. Yes, not scream, like a human. Screech, like an animal.

He screeched and began to thrash around. The white continued to hurt and he continued to move and to be as loud as he could. He hoped that this would scare it away.

It was so painful that he wasn't able to think a coherent thought, not that he had been able to while being confined in his precious darkness.

But, at the edge of his mind, a tiny part of him registered something. Something he had not felt for an enternity, it seemed. He didn't even remember this feeling until experiencing it right now.

It was sound.

Somewhere, at the very egde of his mind he heard sound. He was hearing! Incorent things they might be, but he was hearing! He heard so many things at once!

His heart, beating inside his chest. Sirens, howling in a loud, constant rythm. Clattering metal. Different voices shouting various things.

"Tie it down!"

"Oh my god, whats happening?"

"AHHHHHH!"

"The-the voices. They speak to me..."

"Come home, little one"

"Make it stop!"

"God, please make that it stops!"

"Alrighty, we got this, guys"

And slowly the noises began to quiet. The light finally faded. The pain dulled to a slight throbbing and then stopped altogether. And his beloved darkness returned.

Again he was drifting in the darkness. For a while now he had been pondering what had happened out there. And he came to the conclusion, that he had been dreaming. He knew that while dreaming you experienced strange and unnatural phenomenons. Obviously this light had been one of them. And this pain as well. And thats why he always feared those dreams! Yes, that's it! The darkness was good. It promised peace ad quiet, unlike the evil light.

But what about this new experience? This sound? He finally knew what it meant, which is why he now also knew what quiet was. It was unnerving. It was like thoughts, but much more vivid! And way more painful! Or was it?

He thought about it and came to the conclusion that while it indeed had been painful this sound-thingy was not the source of his agony. The bad light was why he had been hurt, but the sound was good. Or bad? He was not sure. He concluded that he'd have to test whether it was good or bad.

Now, he just had to figure out how to actually feel this sound-stuff without making the bad white hurt him again...

 **ItV**

Doctor Maria Hill had already seen her fair share of strange things in her life. No wonder when one was working as lead scientist in a secret facility of the government, whose only purpose is to study and understand all extraterristical and supernatural things that might influent the country in any way, shape or form. And even though Maria liked to claim that nothing could truly shock her anymore, the ... thing, for lack of a better word, that was lying on an operating table in front of her did make her rather uncomfortable. Not that she showed so in any way or shape (she had a reputation to uphold after all), but the few persons who knew her good enough knew where and what to look for.

"Damn, that thing's really making you wanna freak out, doesn't it?", a soft baritone on her right asked. Maria didn't have to turn her head to know who the owner of this voice was.

She sighed. "It's emitting a rather... uncomfortable aura, that's for sure, Alastair"

Alastair Creed, unspeakable in the british Ministry of magic, co-worker in the lab and a close friend of Hill's hummed in agreement. "So, you guys have any idea what this might be?", he asked while gesturing to the operating table.

The thing in question was a shimmering, bwronish-purple mass which was lying on the table in the middle of the white laboratory. It vaguely resembled a cocoon of sorts, with a multitude of spikes and tentacles protuding out of it at seemingly random points. Violet light glimmerd underneath some patches of seemingly thinner tissue. The whole thing pulsated in an even rythm and if one looked very closely the faint outline of a humanoid body was visible underneath all the tissue.

"Well", Maria started, pulling a sheet out of one of her coat's pockets"we know nearly nothing about this thing. It's unlike anything we have ever encountered in all our years of research. The material that it is made of is beyond our wildest dreams. When we first tried to analyse it we discovered, that its molecules are in a constant state of disarray and reordering. Means that it constantly changes its molecular structure depending on the influx of light, the noise-level, temperature or even the amount of oxygen and nitrogen in the air. It is extremely resilient as well. In order to cut it a strong laserscalpell was needed. and since you know how these are to come by you can imagine, that this thing here is quite high on our priority list"

"It is?" Alastair was suprised. He knew that the cocoon was unnatural and of course would be very intriguing to research for someone like Dr. Hill. But that it was really one of lab 7's top priorities? That suprised him.

Maria nodded. "It is. The president himself even witnessed our first attempt at cutting the cocoon open"

"Oh?", Alastair raised an eyebrow. "And what did you find out by doing so?"

Maraia grimaced. "That I don't want to repeat this action ever again until we have sufficient equpiment for handling this thing"

"Huh? Why? What happened?", Alastair asked.

"It's easier if I'll show you", Maria sighed.

She brought Alastair into the neighboring Room and had him sit down before a multitude of computer screens. All were depicting the lab with the thing from various vantagepoints and angles.

"Here", she said and gave Alastair a pair of headphones. He set them over his ears and Maria pressed the starting button. "What you're gonna see now is the feed of the surveillance camreas while we attempted to cut the cocoon open for the first time.

 _"Moving on to cutting the target in area B 7",_ one of the scientists stated. Alastair recocgnised him to be Jim Crowns, another high ranking member of lab 7's crew. He was holding an strange, metallic device in his hands and was hunched over to top half of the cocoon. The view switched, and instead of hanging from a corner the camera that was filming now had been strapped to the side of Jim's Head, giving Alastair a premium view of the cocoon. Jim spoke again " _Beginning the cut in Three. Two. One. Cut!"_

A short cutting motion from Jim and a loud hissing sound later and a small rift could be seen in the cocoon. It was roughly ten centimetres in length and went vertically down. The laser cutter was put to the side out of view and unsing two metal clamps, Jim pried the small cut open. A clear liquid-like gel covered the interior but nontheless the occupant of the cocoon was clear to see. At first, Alastair didn't quite comprehend what he was seeing there inside the cocoon. It was smooth, and skin-colored, albeit a bit pale. A small line of black hair was visible in the top third of it but the rest remained smooth. Then, it happened. Movement came into the skin and a till then invisible compartment in there opened. _An eye_ , Alastair realized.

He was right. A big, green eye stared at him from inside the cocoon. The outer iris was a rather ordinary shade of green, but near the pupil the colour changed. The green got darker and slowly changed into a vibrant purple. Swirling and slowly spreading more and more outwards. For a short moment nobody said a word. The eye blinked. Once. Twice.

Jim turned his head, subsequently swining the camera and a metal holder was driven. In its grasp; a flashlight. At least, it looked like a flashlight to Alastair. The device was turned and the holder with the flashlight hovered over the eye.

Jim pressed a button on its side and the flashlight activated.

Immediately the eye clenched shut, and-

 ** _SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSKKKKKKKKKKKKRRRRRRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!_**

A terrible, unearthly screech tore through the room. The effect was drastic; the present scientists pressed their hands over their ears, some fell on their knees, one even curled up in a fetal position and started crying. Alastair himself who was just watching a video of it was shocked to the core. The cry was primal, violent and full of despair and pain, but also uncontrolled rage. It sounded twisted and warped and it was painfully obvious, that this sound was not meant to be ever heard by human ears. A multitude of voices and sounds assaulted Alastairs ears and he couldn't make heads or tail of where he was for a moment. Still, he couldn't turn his head. It seemed to... intrigue him. An unnatural suction seemed to originate from the computer, and he leaned foreward, his nose almost touching the screen.

Then, it ended. Dr Hill had, despite the terrible noise, knocked the holder of the clamps which kept the cut in the cocoon open away. The wound itself healed almost immediately and thank God the screaming stopped.

The cocoon, which had been moving and transforming the entire time stopped its movements as well. Where before a multitude of spikes and tentacles had grown rapidly all over the surface, the carapace became "smooth" (if you could call it that) once again. The scientists slowly got up again and began, still visibly shaken, to collect the equipment, which had previously been strewn all over the laboratory's floor. The video ended and the screen became black again. Alastair moved to take off his headphones and noticed, that for some reason his hands were shaking uncontrollably.

"You understand, why I do not want to try this course of action again, I presume?", Hill asked dryly.

Alastair only nodded slowly.

A while nobody said a word. Both were sitting there in silence, lost in their thoughts until Alastair broke the silence some minutes later.

"So you didn't do any more tests beyond that?", he sounded intrigued but tried to hide it. And even though his curiosity was painfully obvious to Maria she decided to humor him. "Why, of course we did", she answered. "Just not as extreme as the one you just saw"

"And what did you find out? Or, did you even find something out?", he asked.

"We did. A lot of things, actually", Hill answered. "For once, it is alive. I don't know how, or why, but it lives. Secondly; it changes constantly. Even the slightest change in the airpressure or the influx of light causes the tissue of the cocoon to change. Its entire biomolecularic structure is in a constant state of change. Even its atomes can switch between several- oh" she stopped when she saw the utterly confused look on Alastairs face. "Right, Wizard", she sighed. Another explanation was in order then.

"Basically", she started again as she led him back into the room with the cocoon. "Basically no matter what you do to it, the cocoon tried to adapt as well as it can to its current environment. If we, for example increased the temperature inside the lab, the cocoon's tissue would undoubtedly become more and more heat-resistant. It is the perfect survivalist, fit for any place or environment" She clapped her hands exidedly "And I havethe chance to study it! Isn' this awesome?"

"Uhm, yes, it is" Alastair added uncertainly. He was still a bit shaken by the rather... shocking video. He cleared his throat and slowly began to regain his bearings. "So, You said it was alive, didn't you?"

"Yup. I don't know how, or why, but it certainly lives"

"Aha. And how do you know that?"

"Well, for one, it breathes. And it's got a pulse, and a fairly normal one at that. Well, normal for a human, that is." Hill seemed to get lost in thoughts for a moment, but quickly got her bearings again. "If not for your report, I would have never believed that this was once human. Much less a child"

"Yes, it is most curious indeed", Alastair said. "but as you know, I was at the scene myself and at that time this, this, _cocoon_ as you call it, was much more see-through than now. And there, I could clearly see the outline of a human child in there"

"Well, whatever it once was, now its clearly not anymore. I mean, do you see this?" She gestured at a fairly big patch of near transparent skin on the ribbed form of the cocoon. "For a human it has way too many legs. And lastly I checked, humans didn't have tails either"

Indeed, the form inside the cocoon looked exactly as Maria had explained. "To be honest, it resembles more a huge larvae than a humanoid creature", Alastair murmured.

"Yeah, that it does. Say, do we know the name of whoever got stuck inside this thing?"

All of a sudden, Alastair seemed to have aged several years and a grief stricken shadow was cast over his face. "Well, yeah, sadly I know who this poor child was"

Maria raised an eyebrow. 'W _as'_?, she thought. _So you don't even consider whoever is in there alive anymore?_

Although she didn't blame him. Anyone would have a hard time believing the thing inside the cocoon human after the surveillance video.

"And who is it?", she asked absentmindedly, while studying a report that had just been delivered to her by another colleague.

"Harry Potter"

"Oh?", she asked and put the file away. "The-Boy-who-survived, right?"

"Boy-who-lived", Alastair corrected. "But yes, that was him. Imagine my suprise, when I found him in this state in the middle of a muggle neighborhood, instead of somewhere safe under Dumbledore's protection"

"Dumbledore", Maria murmured, "You mean the man we once met, during the incident with that genie in Syria?"

"No, no, that was Alastor Moody, an Auror and dark wizard hunter", Alastair said while lost in memorys. That had been a very... special adventure for all of them.

"Albus Dumbledore is the Headmaster of Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry, as well as Supreme Mugwump of the ICW and Chiefwarlock of the Wizengamot"

"ICW?"

"Short for International Confederation of Wizards"

"Ah. Well, he sounds very influential. I'd love to meet him one time"

"Well", Alastair said and wringed his hands, "as a matter of fact, I wrote to him immediatly after bringing the cocoon here, and invited him for a visit. In fact, he should be arriving in about 10 minutes".

blink*

blink, blink*

A short while nobody said a word.

"I see", Maria said coldly, while fixing Alastair with an icy stare. "Well, lets go to my office then and await him. And while we get there, you better explain, why you weren't able to tell me that the most powerful wizrad I ever heard of, will be coming by to see after his mutated protgeé"

Alastair could only let out an audible gulp of dread at that.

 **ItV**

It was 10 minutes later (Maria had just been finished with chewing out Alstair) when the door to the doctors office was opened and a man, no a wizard, entered. He was wearing a pair of (rather hideous) green robes which were decorated with brown and grey lions, as well as a pointed hat in the same fashion. Golden spectacles in the form of a half moon adorned his face and his eyes were twinkling with mirth. A white beard grew from his face and was so enourmously long that he had tucked it in the clasp of his belt. In just a few long strides he had cleared the space between the door and Marias rather impressive mahagony desk.

"Doctor Hill, I presume" he greeted, and held out his hand for her to shake. Maria did so while answering with "Mugwump Dumbledore, I presume?"

"Oh please", he said, while they sat down. Call me Headmaster or Mister if you must. Mugwump reminds me of all that dreadily boring Parliament meetings"

Maria chuckled. "Okay then, Mister Dumbledore. I don't want to appear rude, but my time is sparse, and my shedule packed, so I'd like to come straight to the point. Why are you here?"

"Well, it is a rather complicated matter, I'm afraid", Dumbledore admitted. "You see, I heard of an unsusual incident, invilving a person very close to me. I was told, that you have Harry contained here?"

"That is correct, yes", Maria said. "Though I think it will be best if you see for you little celebrity yourself"

"That would be very kind of you. When can I see him?"

"Right now, if you want. We just have to go through some corridors", Maria explained while getting up and opening the door. "After you, Headmaster"

Dumbledore nodded in thanks and, once past the door let Alastair take the lead. Falling in step with Maria a few steps behind the unspeakable he said: "You know doctor, during our talk earlier I couldn't help but notice that you greeted me by one of my more... international titles. Am I right to presume that you are one of the aware ones?"

Hill nodded. "You are. I am fully aware of the supernatural world as a whole"

Dumbledore blinked. "The supernatural world? Are you a member of it then?"

Maria laughed. "Oh no, I am surely not. But isn't it the duty of an superior worker to know the origins of your employees and colleagues?"

"Oh, of course, you are very right there, Miss"

"Though I have to admit, it was a pretty big shock for me, when I found out"

"Yes, I can understand that", Dumbledore admitted. "Still, not many Muggles know of it. We have the statute of secrecy, after all. If I may ask, how exactly did you find out?"

"Through one of my coworkers' sloppyness actually", she chuckled. "One of my best men, Aragran, did a rather poor job at his curriculum vitae and after giving him the choice to either come clear with the truth or to get turned down to never return, he told me quite a lot of interesting things about the worlds"

"Aragran?" Dumbledore mused. "Hmm, I would've never even dreamed that you'd have a devil working here"

"Oh, he is one of the best guys for heavy lifting I could have wished for", Maria chuckled.

"Hey!", a green haired man shouted out of an open Lab-door. "Thats not the only thing I'm great for! I'm also an amazing artist, a wonderful singer and especially talented in training ducks to-"

"Yes, we know, Gran-gran, you're humility incarnated" a girl's voice from inside the lab shouted. "Now quit bragging and help me with those boxes!"

"Yes ma'am", Aragran sighed.

"And dont' freackin 'ma'am' me, understood?"

"Of course" he answered and added "slave driver" under his breath.

"I heard that!"

A loud gulp was heard, before the door was closed and the three companions were on their way again.

"Does this always go like this in here? Isn't it supossed to be a secret government facility or something like that?", Dumbledore a,usedly asked.

Alastair chuckled "Yeah, that's what everyone says at the first time. But you get used to it pretty quickly. Just like Doc Hill's tirades"

"Zip it Creed", Maria snapped, though there was no real venom behind it.

"Anyway, we're here", Alaststair announced and stopped before a unsuspicious looking door. Maria lay her right hand on a scanner beside it and the door slid open, which allowed Albus to finally lay sight on what his late friends' only son had become...

 **ItV**

 **Sorry for the long wait guys, but my muse just wasn't there. But now it returned and I'm really exited to be able to continue to write this! Hope you enjoyed the chapter and till next time!**


	4. Chapter3

**Disclaimer: See Chapter One**

 **Shoutout to Cryocontrol for the first review! Thanks man, it means a lot to me!**

 **Chapter Three**

"Oh my", Albus murmured for the upteenth time in the last minutes. Admittedly, he had expected to see a lot of concerning things. After all the magical, and by extension the supernatural world, was full of possible dangers and strange phenomenons. The possibilities for someone to get hurt by them were endless. Though Alastair had tried to explain what happened to Harry when he sent Albus his patronus, the full scale was much more serious in nature than albus would ever had guessed it.

Some kind of possession Alastair had guessed. But no, this wasn't it. Albus knew what signaled a possession, and little Harry didn't show a single one of them. Something different was at work here. Something vastly different and inexplicably more powerful than a simple demon trying to take over a human's body.

The old wizard raised his wand and cast numerous diagnostic spells on the cocoon lying in front of him. The results were shocking, though not unexpected. A tired sigh escaped his throat and he mustered the cocoon with a pang of sadness.

"Albus?", Alastair asked upon hearing his sigh. "What's wrong? Do you know what happened to Harry?"

For a moment Albus contemplated remaining silent, but dismissed this thought nearly immediately. The truth wouldn't hurt them he decided. Or, at least a part of it.

"Sadly, yes, I do know what happened here", Albus answered tiredly. "Though, I admit, I am not sure, what to make of this knowledge. It is a very delicate matter, you see" He turned his back to the cocoon, and looked Maria straight into the eyes. "I will tell you, what this whole affair here" He made a vague gesture over Harry's cocoon "is about. But, seeing as this information is more than sensitive I request, no, I demand that this knowledge will not, under no circumstance leave this room"

Alastair agreed readily but Maria objected. "I am sorry Mister Dumbledore, but I'm afraid I cannot guarantee that. Should this information pose a threat to the United Kingdom, then the prime minister should and will hear of this. It is my duty after all"

"Actually" Alastair chimed in "I was wondering the whole time, why the cocoon is here, after all. Shouldn't it be somewhere else with more up to date technology like, the United States??"

"Yes, you certainly have a point there, Alastair"; Albus said. "It is true that the while leading resources for mundane, as well as magical research are truly stationed in the USA. And, were this a mundane phenomenon or artifact it would have been brought here to determine its use, origin, danger, et cetera. Moving the equipment elsewhere would be much too time and energy consuming after all. But this is no mundane pheonomenon. Even the very existence of this cocoon could have catastrophic consequences. There would be no way to move the whole operation somewhere else without alerting at least one of the factions that would be the cause for the aforementioned consequences"

"Hm. Fair enough", Alastair said. "So, what about this cocoon now?"

Maria opened her mouth to speak, but Albus beat her to it.

"Before you repeat yourself, doctor, yes I agree to your terms. As long as only the president gets hold of this information. Trust me, when I say, that the less people know about this, the better"

"Agreed", Maria answered. "Now what do you know about the subject?"

"One minute, please", Albus said before murmuring several spells. "Before you ask, I just casted several anti detection spells around us, to prevent anyone else from listening in to the following information"

Both nodded, showing their understanding.

"Now, to begin with, do you know of the other realms, Doctor?"

Maria nodded. "There are Earth, where we live, Heaven, where the Angels reside and Hell, home of the Devils, right?"

Albus nodded. "You are correct, though those are not all. You see, while Earth, Heaven and the Underworld are very close to each other, they are not residing within the same universe. Though, seeing how closely their "realities", for lack of a better word are tied together they might as well be. But, there are two, well, three additional planes of existence out there. One is the place known as dimensional gap. This is the part of space which exists only in between the Three Worlds, the common name of Heaven, Earth and the Underworld. It is a place outside of time and space, and it is in this very place, where most gods and beings of equal status are residing. It is a remarkably unique place, where all Three Worlds are overlapping and out cancelling each other at the same time"

"The next world does not have a real name, but commonly it is referred to as Gehenna, the Realm of the Dead. It is the place where the souls of the dead or echoes of those souls reside. There is no material and no matter present in this place and thus can only be accessed by beings that do not possess a physical body. Despite the fact, that this World is inaccessible to mortal creatures, communicating with this place is easier than with any other World out there. The stone of resurrection from the tale of the three brothers for example is said to be even able to pull souls form Gehenna to here. Well, if such an artifact really exists, that is"

"The last realm though is the most obscure and, I am very serious on this matter, by far the most dangerous of all places out there. Under no circumstance must anyone of you ever attempt to meddle with this realm, do you understand me?"

The other two nodded gravely. "Why is that?", Maria asked, but Alastair shushed her. He knew that once Albus got into his "teacher-mode" as he and the other members of the Order of the Phoenix liked to call his information-rants, nothing could interrupt him from his lecture.

"This place", Albus continued without indication of even hearing Marias question, "has many names, such as Abyss, Leere, or Jurang, just to name a few. Commonly though, by the few who know of its existence at least, it is called the Void. You can imagine it like space between universes and as the yarn that sews the fabric of reality together. It is not really a own universe, but only a gateway to something much greater and much, much more sinister. To what exactly though we have no idea. What we do know though, is that the Void constantly strives to consume and adapt and destroy everything. Thus the knowledge of this seemingly malevolent not-quite-universe is a top secret affair. Just imagine all the panic that would ensue if people would learn, that an entire kind-of-universe aims to kill them. The fallout would be a catastrophe"

All three shuddered at this particular thought. A giant panic all over the world, no, the Worlds, would be the result. A truly terrifying thought.

"Any questions?", Albus asked, having apparently finished his explanation.

Maria couldn't help but raising her arm. For some inexplicable reason she felt like she was sitting in school once again, waiting for the teacher to call her name.

"Yes, Dr Hill?", Albus asked.

"I was wondering what the connection between the cocoon and what you just told us is", Maria stated.

"Oh", Albus sheepishly coughed in his hand before righting himself. "Now, based on the diagnostic spells and the evidence and data you showed me earlier I can say without doubt, that the origin of the cocoon is the Void. Everything, from the buildup to the magic its emitting indicates this. The mystery though is, why young Harry got involved with this whole situation. And, even more importantly, how we can relieve him of this rather pitiful state and destroy anything of what's left of the Void after that. For even the smallest residue of it poses a danger to our entire world"

"But what will happen, should we not be able to free him of the cocoon?", Maria asked. "What are we going to do then?"

"As much as it pains me to say so, should this unlikely case occur, then I do not think, that Harry will count as human anymore. And as such the Void inside him and by extension, he himself would pose a grave threat to our world. I'm afraid that we have to destroy anything that's left of him in this case"

Alastair whirled around to face Albus. "What do you mean 'destroy'? He is Harry Potter! The savior of the wizarding world! And on top of that he is just a child!" Alastair shouted angrily. "How could you even think of harming him!"

"Alastair, calm down", Maria sternly ordered. "Think about it! If we fail, and the child is too far gone, then he just poses a threat! To you, me, Aragran and the rest of our crew, Albus and the entire frickin' world! Would you really want to risk this?"

"Additionally", Albus chimed in "Should the worst case scenario occur, then this would not be a human child anymore. Merlin, nothing would be farther from it!" A sad and tired tone wormed itself into Albus voice "Trust me, I have experience on this"

Alastair, while admittedly being quite a hotheaded person was by no means an idiot and as such recognized the logic in their arguments. This did not mean that he liked it though. "Let's hope that it won't come to this then", he huffed and left the room.

"I'm sorry", Albus sighed, after the door closed itself "But as you know Alastair can be quite … emotional at times"

"Oh, trust me, I know", Maria said. Desperate to make a change in the conversation she asked "You said you knew of a way that might help our Patient here"

"That I do. Though I'm afraid that I will need quite some time, to gather the resources needed. I will send you a message through Alastair, when I have time again"

"Agreed. Let's hope that Al will deliver it in time this time", Maria muttered.

Albus just chuckled, dropped his anti-spying spells and quickly left the room. Though not without casting a quick glance at the cocoon housing Harry.

I will help you Harry, he silently vowed. I will free you from this terrible fate. And if you're too far gone already, I hope that at least I can avenge you. If not four your, then for James' and Lily's sake…

ItV

The sensation of hearing, he concluded, was in equal measures delightful and agonizing.

Delightful, because is posed something new. something to distract him in his little black world. Whenever he heard it he listened. Whenever he didn't hear, he waited.

Agonizing, because it introduced the concept of boredom. Whenever he heard something he listened. But whenever he didn't hear something he waited.

He didn't know how long these periods of waiting were. Time had no meaning to him.

Time…

Was it like sound?

Could he feel it as well?

Was it another distraction?

Was ist like the dark? Good and nice and warm and-

Maybe it was like the Bad White! Bright and stingy and hurting and evil, so evil, evil, evil, Evil, EVil, EVIl, EVIL; EVILEVILEVILEVILEVILEVILEVILEVILEVILEVILEVILEVILEVILEVILEV **ILEVILEVILEVILEVILEVILEVILEVILEVILEVILEVILEVILEVILEVILEVILEVILEVILEVILEVILEVILEVILEVILEVILEVIL** -

There was sound!

It ripped him out of his musings. He heard something! But it was unclear. Like someone talked through water…

Water… again a weird concept. Why did those words appear in his head the whole time? There it was again! Time. He had to investigate this time thing…

No! Bad! First sound! Then time!

He strained. Tried to hear. Tried to hear voices. Wait, voice- NO! NO DISTRACTION: Focus!

He tried to be quiet. Didn't move. Didn't think. Just heard and listened. His thoughts became simpler. His spirit receded. He didn't want it to recede. BUt it did. It didn't obey him. He sank but swam, and sank but didn't drown and was confused. He didn't reign anymore. He never had reigned at all. The instincts reigned now. The instincts had always reigned. IT reigned now. IT had always Reigned. IT was THEY. THEY reigned and had reigned and will reign. He didn't reign. He was insignificant. He was insignificant and listened.

"... cannot guarantee that"

Confusion.

"Shouldn't it be back in Britain?"

Britain? Stone. Dirt. Land. Confusion intensifies.

"...-hat about this cocoon now?"

Cocoon. Good. Safe, Protection. Evolve. Change. Change! CHANGECHANGECHANGECHANG- Concentration! Calm. Concentration. Focus.

"Heaven, where the angels reside and Hell, home of the Devils, right?"

Heaven, Hell? Confusion…?

Devils. Pitiful. Contempt.

Angels… Light. White. Hurt! Avoid. Avoid, avoid, avoid. Bad White! Rage. Rage, rage rage, rage.

…

…

...

"... is called the Void"

Void.

Void?

Void!

Home. Darkness, home, black. No Light, Good Dark.

Home, home, memories.

Memories!

Little White, Frozen Battle, Great Watchers, Desert Destruction, Waiting and Patience. Home.

Sadness. Homesick.

More memories. Mission. Infiltrating. Adapting. Change, Evolution. Consuming, Snuffing out the little light. Watchers Watching, Watchers Waiting, Watchers Wailing, Watchers Warring, Watchers-

"Harry Potter!"

Harry… Harry Potter…

Concept. Foreign concept… Name!

Harry Potter Name!

Harry Potter his name!

Harry Potter was his name!

Confusion?

He was not IT!

Realization!

He was not THEM!

Dominance!

No! He couldn't let it win!

FIGHT!

He had to fight back, and so he did!

PUSH

He pushed back

PRESSURE

He pressured back

PUSH PRESSURE PRESSURE PUSH

He pressured and pushed and pushed and pressured. IT didn't budge. IT didn't win any ground

Stalemate. Anger.

He hadn't won. But also he hadn't lost. They were still pushing. But they were equal. And he had learned. Learned his name. And with the name came the memories.

He was Harry Potter.

He was in the darkness.

He wanted to get out. No, he had to get out. But out of where? He was inside. Inside of what? He did not know. He couldn't investigate because he had to push. If he didn't push IT would win. IT couldn't be allowed to win. If IT would win, THEY would win as well. Harry didn't know who THEY were. But he knew that THEY were over IT. THEY were bad. If THEY won everything would be over. So he pushed. And waited. And thought. And hoped.

And inside the cocoon Harry Potter shifted. Shifted, as if a terrible weight would have latched itself onto his chest and now slowly threatened to crush him…

 **Welp, that's it. I know, things may be confusing, but well, that can't be helped sadly. The Void in itself is rather confusing and I wanted to make the struggle between Harry and this other. _thing_ a bit more clear. Also, I tried to go with a bit of a "Lovecrafthian Approach" regarding the watchers here. They always kinda reminded me of the elder Gods, to be honest. I'm not really sure if I managed it though, aside from a few fanfics I haven't ready any of his works yet /**

 **Also, what do you thonk of my idea to turn this into a threeway crossover with Highschool DxD as well? I always loved the setting of highschool DxD. Though I could've done without all the ecchi and harems and stuff.**

 **Anyways, I hoped you guys enjoyed the chapter. Don't forget to leave reviews for they are like the fuel for my muse!**

 **Till next time, Halariel over and out!**


	5. Chapter4

**Disclaimer: See Chapter one**

 **Chapter Four**

Harry didn't know how much time had passed since he remembered his name. Time had no concept here. In the darkness only one thing counted; how strong he was able to push. He just had to hold IT at bay. He didn't know for how long, or till when. He only knew, that he had to endure it.

But the pressure had been building up. It had increased ever so slowly. Where at the beginning it just seemed to come from above his chest it now encompassed his entire body. Every angle seemed to push, pull and squeeze at his being. A terrible throbbing filled his senses and the pushing became harder and harder with each breath he took.

Then, as suddenly as it had begun, it ended. From one moment to trhe other the pushing had stopped.

Strange, but not unwelcome. Finally Harry had some calm and peace. The throbbing ended and he could breathe freely once again. Or, whatever the equivalent in this darkness here was. Now he just needed a way to get out of it. If he could manage that he'd be free he hoped. He took a deep breath, and prepared to-

PUSHHHHHHH

With the power of a freight train IT had begun ITs onslaught again. Without warning IT attacked and Harry, stunned by this unforeseen action lost precious ground before he was able to fight back again. With all his might he countered, all thoughts about escaping forgotten. He couldn't spare any distractions while fighting for his very existence in here.

Soon a rhythm began to form; IT would push and pressure and pressure and push, then it would stop. Never for the same amount of time, thus keeping Harry on edge the entire time. Sometimes IT attacked immediately, relentless for an eternity, then IT would stop. But IT would always come back again. Never giving up, always battling for supremacy. And slowly Harry realized to his ever growing horror, that he began to loose. Not all at a time. But a little ground here, a small hesitation there…

He lost his ground slowly but steady. And IT? IT just pushed. It pressured on and on and on and on and on and on. But… he refused to let it win. Refused to let it win even one more inch of ground! So he pushed again. He pressured like he never pressured before and pushed like he never pushed before. On and on he pushed, gaining his ground back rapidly, surprising even IT with his ferociousness.

And then, nothing. He did it. He had conquered IT, banished IT, had won against ITs foreign presence. He rejoiced and was already planning on how to escape the darkness, when something caught his (metaphorical) eye.

There! There was… something. Something small. It was like a light in this godforsaken place. Except it wasn't. He was shrouded in total darkness. And yet this … thing was like a beacon of blackness inside the already pitch-black universe he was in.

He knew he should ignore it. Knew he had to ignore it. If he would, everything would go back to normal. He would have a normal life again. Without danger, without pressure and pushing, without this eternal darkness. But… he couldn't tear his gaze away from it. It was just so… so fascinating. He just couldn't ignore it. Didn't want to ignore it. His curiosity and his caution battled, not unlike he and IT just mere moments prior. But in the end his curiosity won.

Though he couldn't possibly have known it, but there was a proverb, said by an old chieftain, living in the scorching deserts of a faraway land called Shurima:

"Not death is the bane of humanity. Nor is it love, pestilence, war or any of those. The true bane of all living things is the concept of curiosity. Like honey it lures them, like resin it binds them, like hate it consumes them, like destiny it dooms them."

And just this curiosity lead Harry to follow the black light. He conentrated on the dark beacon in this black world, allowing him so escape this world, and thus changing his life, his destiny and his future as well as that of an entire world irrevocably forevermore. And just for a thousand moments, for a sliver of a heartbeat and an eternity simultaneously this enabled him to throw a look behind the great beyond.

And what he saw there shocked him. Delighted him. Pained him. Healed him. Comforted him. Scared him.

The universe was **_BLACK_**. Not just black, or _black_ or even **black** , but **_BLACK_**. Utter and impossibly black darkness. Blackness so impossibly impossible black that even his own little dark world flared bright like a sun. Not unlike the other little dark suns he spotted here and there. If he hadn't known the brightness of his own little world, he would have missed them entirely. But his gaze didn't stop there. Farther and farther he gazed. Further and further his view stretched in this dark space, until it caught sight of something. It was focussed on something and he couldn't bring himself to look away from it.

A sun, he realized. A sun in this darkness, just like his own little world. But while his was bright and flaring this one was … it was… it…

If the universe around him was **_BLACK_** and DARK and COLD, then this world there was **_BRIGHT_** and **_LIGHT_** and _SCORCHING beyond measure._

And there, around this world it happened. Finally he saw THEM. There were many of THEM. Unmovingly THEY gazed upon this world. Nearer and nearer he was drawn, till one of THEM caught sight of him. And everything exploded in emotion.

 **ItV**

When Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore arrived at Lab 7 five days after having sen Harry's cocoon, for he refused for even one second to believe that Harry was dead or, Merlin forbid, consumed, he didn't know what to expect.

Had he been sleeping these last days he would probably have had nightmares on end about all the possibilities that could lead to a failure of Harry's soon to be extraction. But he had not slept, preferring to run on magical brand of coffee, enervates and even muggle anti-sleeping-pills. The faster he could get Harry out of his misery the better after all.

So he had traveled around, tracked down old friends and adversaries, cashed in favors and even got the help of the fallen angel Kokabiel. Now one might ask himself now why exactly a member of the Cadre of the Grigori and Kokabiel, who is known for his disdain for all the mortal races, would help a "lowly human" the likes of Albus Dumbledore. Now, the reason behind this is fairly obvious; respect.

Yes, Albus Dumbledore was a human, and yes, it is true that normally this fact would have earned him nothing but scorn and disdain when speaking with Kokabiel, so was it also a fact that Kokabiel respected and even admired strength. Such it is no wonder that the man who is widely known as the strongest wizard alive would be able to talk with Kokabiel not quite on even ground, but still more or less normally. Add to this that Albus had even bested the fallen Angel in combat a few decades earlier, and one could say that these two men connected something akin to a friendship. And while their views -especially those on all things war- differed greatly, so were they still connected by a great deal of respect and admiration for each other.

Kokabiels time as one of the 20 Watcher-Angels in the fifth Heaven prior to his fall in which he discovered great a many secrets about astrology, the universe and the different worlds in general also were a great motivation to tag along with Albus to help Harry. After all, when did one get to study a being from the Void the single most dangerous, but also most unexplored world of all?

Well, it's suffice to say that today Lab 7 saw a very exited Kokabiel wandering its halls.

"So", the fallen said. "What exactly do you need me for Albus? While it is greatly appreciated that you informed me of your… find, I still cannot help but ask myself how exactly you thought I could be of assistance here"

As always, Kokabiels manner of speech was impeccable and his words smooth beyond belief.

"Now, now, do my old bones trick me or is it excitement I hear there from you?", Albus asked, eyes twinkling with mirth.

"Well of course it is", Kokabiel replied. "After all you don't get to study the Dimension of Madness every day"

Albus sighed tiredly. "You know, I still wish that you would stop to try and meddle with things we aren't supposed to understand or even know of for that matter"

As much as the Void intrigued him, he still chose to try and ignore it. There was no point in dabbling in knowledge that could and probably would be their end one day in the distant future.

"You know I cannot do this, Albus", Kokabiel said somberly. "Exploring the universe is not just my passion. It is what I was created for. And though He is gone for a long time now, I still cannot change the innermost part of my soul. The thirst for knowledge is as much a part of me as my wings or my light"

"I know, old friend, I know. Still, an old fool can dream, can't he?"

A melodious chuckle escaped Kokabiels throat at this. "Old fool? You've just barely crossed your first century. For me you will always be the little brat you were in your youth"

Albus' eyebrows rose at the mention of the words "just" and "century", but laughed heartily after this. "Still sore that the 'brat' that I'll always be bested you in combat?"

"Pff, you wish, kid, you wish", Kokabiel, though not without a wide and happy smile of his own on his face. "Also, I was severely injured at this time, so maybe I just should demand a rematch so see who really is the strongest"

"You had a cold", Albus merrily pointed out.

"The point still stands", the fallen angel replied.

Albus' eyes twinkled with mirth "So, why don't we do our rematch then? I would love to stretch my old bones once in a while to be honest"

"Well, I am terribly sorry, but my position as a Grigori demands a lot of my time, so I am afraid, our rematch has to wait until I am less busy"

"You just wait and hope I'll drop dead before it comes to that, don't you? Trying to spare you the embarrassment a second time?"

"Trust me, old friend, I have the feeling you will survive all of us grigori if you continue living your life like you do now", Kokabiel laughed, which Albus joining in soon after.

 **ItV**

"So this is him…", Kokabiel mused, roughly 20 Minutes later while mustering the Purplish-brown cocoon. Soft tremors shook it from time to time and it trembled in a slow but steady rhythm. "Truly fascinating…"

"Indeed", Albus answered, standing next to the Angel. Next to him were Dr. Maria Hill, the head scientist of Lab 7, Alastair Creed, Unspeakable in the british ministry of magic, as well as several scientists of lab 7. They all were situated in a rough circle around the table with Harry's cocoon operating most of the machines and equipment during the intervention. They all were completely focussed and ready for probably the most intense operation up to date. For today would be the day when they would be extracting Harry Potter from the cocoon. State of the art equipment was situated next to the table, along with several magical machineries all with the sole purpose of measuring the state of the cocoon, everything with someone situated behind it to control it. From the molecular structure, over the level of magical energy in it till even the air pressure around it, nothing was not monitored. They couldn't afford to leave anything to chance during this operation.

"Does everyone remember the plan?" Dr. Hill asked. A chorus of "yes, Ma'am" and a scoffed "of course" (courtesy of Kokabiel) were the answer.

"Okay then!", she said. "Operation starting in three, two, one, operation start!"

Immediately Kokabiel rose his hand and froze the entire cocoon in time. The machines stilled monitoring it stilled as well, and immediately a team of doctors started to cut it open.

"Remember guys, we only have so much time left, before Mister Kokabiels spell is over. So do not slack!"

Said angel was meanwhile already showing signs of stress. Sweat began to pearl on his forehead and his hands began to tremble.

"What's wrong Kokabiel?" Albus asked. While he knew that freezing objects and especially living things in time his friend shouldn't have that much of a problem with the task. Barely 30 seconds were over after all.

"I-I don't know" The strain in Kokabiels normally perfectly controlled voice was obvious. "Feels like it's fighting or.. Dunno, It's way bigger than it should be"

His arms were visibly shaking by now and his hair was plastered to his face.

"Alastair, now!", Albus shouted. He and Alastair didn't waste a moment of time. They channeled their magical energy and fed it to Kokabiel in an effort to lessen his burden. But as soon as the connection between Albus' and Kokabiels magical cores was forged he felt it as well.

A crushing pressure unlike anything he ever had felt up to date. It tore and pulled and pushed and pressured and ripped and blew and threatened to utterly tear him apart. Nut he held strong. Next to him the strain became too much for Alastair; the man collapsed, foam before his mouth, hair wet with sweat and dry heaving on the laboratories floor.

Magical exhaustion, Albus noted absentmindedly. The Pressure became slowly too much for him as well. His legs were shaking and his hair matted to his head.

At least the spell still holds, he thought. Only the thoughts and concerns for his friend and the effort to ease his burden, holding him upright.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Hills voice rang out.

"We get him out of there!" She shouted, as she and her team pulled something small and purple and so horrifyingly not human out of the cocoon.

Kokabiel and Albus stopped their spells and panted from exhaustion.

"Note to myself", Kokabiel panted "Never try to time-freeze something out of the Void"

Albus wholeheartedly agreed with this and took a look at the thing lying in front of them on the table. A quick ennervate and Alastair, tough exhausted and tired, joined them staring at the live form lying on the table. Its top half closely resembled a human. Pale skin and messy black, hair covered his head. The face looked entirely like the Harry Potter that Albus knew and remembered, but one thing was off. His scar had changed. While it had been a little pale scratch atop his right eyebrow, it now resembled a long, jagged claw mark. It covered his eye completely; no eyebrow or eyelash could be seen. For all intents and purposes his right eye was nonexistent, though a quick test showed that it was just closed. But where the left eye was a completely normal vibrant shade of green his right eye was not. Instead of an Iris or pupil there was just a black slit inside of this horrid purple scar, imbedded in a completely black eye socket, which seemed to pierce your very soul.

The lower half of its body though worried them; it was covered by rough, spiky purplish-brown carapace. Instead of legs just a single long lib was left. It was curled in on itself and 3 pairs of insectoid legs sprouted on equal distance from it. To be frank, it gave Harry (or what was left of him) the appearance of a giant human-larvae-hybrid.

Albus shared a poignant look with the other attending persons and cast a quick ennervate on Harry's still, but nonetheless breathing form.

It was hit by the spell and a shudder went through its body. He opened his eyes, opened his mouth and began to screech.

 **ItV**

This moment would burn itself for all eternity in Harry's memory. Slowly, without a care in the world, one of THEM turned around.

An eye, harry realized. A giant, impossible eye gazed at him. From across the universe and through all realities it saw him, mustered him. Everything was droned out until only he and the eye remained. They were locked in their gazes and a terrible pull originated from the eye. It was nothing like he ever felt before. If IT had pressured him like a train, then the eye was a whole planet in comparison. It was so impossibly old and big and powerful and wise and

 **PULL**

It happened in an instant. One moment he was half in his world and half in THEIRS. Impossibly far away from THEIRS. Then just THEIRS. Before the eye. It mustered him and something hammered away at his mind.

A voice. Or at least, the mental equivalent of it.

 **YES**

It seemed to say.

 **YOU WILL DO**

Then, another one of THEM appeared. And another one, and another one. THEY seemed to talk. Emotions flowed between them and with Harry trapped next to them. HE couldn't move. Couldn't breathe, blink or even think.

A multitude of emotions streamed from THEM it while THEY communicated with Harry accidently at the receiving end.

There was **curiosity**.

A peculiar mix of **hope** and **resignation**.

Then there was **rage**. So unbelievably strong **rage** , paired with **hatred** beyond belief, all aimed at the sun, no, the world before him and behind THEM.

He felt **restlessness**. And a terrible disturbance. Like something was not right at all. But for the life of it he couldn't get a grip on what exactly it was.

 **Disdain**. So unbelievably great **disdain** regarding him, and everything that wasn't THEM. And especially regarding the place before him.

He wondered why. A mistake, for suddenly an influx of memories and information assaulted his mind. THEY probably hadn't even realized that he was leeching off of THEIR knowledge. It was so vast anyways, that this tiny sliver of it was naught but a raindrop in an ocean. But even this was enough to send his mind into overdrive. A lot of it was filed away or outright forgotten. But one thing burned itself into his brain. A name. The name of the world before him.

Runeterra.

He calmed down. And he felt THEIR emotions once more.

Something akin to **resignation**. No, something different. **Patience**. Such an unbelievably great amount of **patience**.

He wondered what THEY wanted from him.

 **Hope** , was the answer.

 **Glee** another one. Then a multitude of thoughts too foreign for mortal minds to remember or even understand.

But what shook him by far the most was the **apathy**. Just could, numb **apathy**. Like he was irrelevant. And in a way he was, Harry knew that. He, as well as IT, and his world and any worlds and everything except THEM was irrelevant in the long run. For the only thing that mattered were THEM. THEY had already existed before the beginning and would continue to do so even after the end. Like they always had and would always do. It was just a matter of time. Millenia mattered nothing to THEM. THEY perceived centuries like seconds and time was a concept as foreign to them as the internet would be to a neanderthal.

A new feeling spread inside of him at this realization. **Despair**. Like acid did it burn its way inside of him and left him with nothing but a terrible feeling of **hopelessness**. In the end, everything he did was for naught. So why did he even fight THEM then?

Why didn't he let them just use them for whatever THEY wanted to do? Wouldn't that be easier? He supposed so. So he waited. Soon the others of THEM went away, till only he and the one of THEM who spotted him remained.

The eye looked at him again.

He looked back.

Something slithered in his vision.

It was dark.

It was twisted and primal and old.

But it was not evil.

No, the opposite.

It was hopeful.

It was restless

It was so full of sorrow.

It was-

 ** _BRIGHT BRIGHT BRIGHT_**

EVERYTHING WAS SO BRIGHT AND LIGHT AND WHITE AND HE SCREECHED AND IT WAS RIPPED AWAY AND HE WAS RIPPED AWAY AND IT HURt SO MUCH SO MUCH SO MUCH SO BRIGHT HE MUSTNT FORGET IT AND MUSTN'T FORGET them AND SUDDENLY HE WAS OUT-

and frantic shouting assaulted his senses. He smelled strange smells and tasted strange tastes and opened his eyes and-

He could see.

He could see!

Finally he could see again!

Even through the blaring pain in the right side of his face he could see!

Faces came into his view. A man, with a big hat and long, long silver shining hair. A woman, brown hair, glasses on her nose and a laboratory coat around her shoulders. A man with pointed ears and glowing red eyes and another man with sunken in eyes and a ragged appearance and a woman and a man and other people and-

His vision began to water as tears filled his eyes. He felt strong hand grab him and pull him out of something. Suddenly everything went cold. Ice cold and shivers shook his entire body. Not before long though he was put into another thing -water- he realized, and he became warm again.

Voices soon began to talk to him. Some calm, some heated some concerned, some afraid. His body shook again, but not due to the cold this time. An unbelievable sadness overtook him. It drew tears in his eyes and sobs into his voice. The voices -no persons- continued asking him questions. At first he couldn't make heads or tails of what they said, but slowly ht stated comprehending them again.

"What happened to you?"

"How did this happen?"

"You are safe, my boy, everything will be alright"

"What did you see?"

And many more of those inquiries.

But he only could repeat one thing over and over again. And no matter how much he cried, no matter, how much he screamed his sorrow into the world, no worlds, it didn't help.

"They are the victims", he whispered, over and over again. "They want us gone and they have the right"

 **ItV**

The scream was nothing like anything Kokabiel had ever heard before. So full of agony and fear, of panic and rage. It teared at his mind, tried to do … something to him, but he squashed that feeling immediately. The other witnesses weren't this lucky. They held their ears, writhed on the floor or stared into the empty air. So Kabiel, as the good and caring fallen that he was, did the only thing he could think of that might help. He summoned a sphere of water and submerged the thing inside of it. And oh joy, the screeching stopped. He receded his sphere and lay the trembling thing down on the table again. It seemed to have calmed down and everyone now rushed to him, taking blood samples, asking him questions, or opted for just plain staring.

But he never answered any of those inquiries. Instead the child, for even in Kokabiels mind there was no doubt that this was just a babe, trapped in terrible circumstances, only repeated two sentences over and over. Even through the sedatives that were later used to calm him down he continued to murmur them.

And even though at this moment Kokabiel couldn't make heads or tails out of those sentences for the life of him, they would burn themselves for evermore into his mind.

"They are the victims. They want us gone and they have the right", the fallen murmured. "Well if this isn't ominous…"

 **ItV**

 **Welp** **guys, thats it. Harry made first contact with the watchers, Albus flexes with his supernatural connections and yeah. Thats it basically.**

 **Thanks for reading this chapter, reviews are more than apprechiated and I hope I can keep my muse as flowing as it is right now.**

 **@Viscides: Well, yeah, basically you got it. But trust me, there will be way, waay more than just "yeah Harry has cool ass void powers'n stuff and no drawbacks at all yeah yeah". I'm gonna try and subvert this trope as good as I can. Or rather, Im not sure if void-harry is even a trope xD.**

 **Anyways, I hope you guys stick around and that this chapter wasn't too freaky with all the Void-Universe-Watcher-Stuff.**

 **See ya and till next time,**

 **Halariel out!**


	6. Chapter5

**Chapter Five**

The first thing Harry noticed upon waking was the warmth. Compared to the utter nothingness he had experienced while being exposed to **THEM** it was rather noticeable after all. It wasn't unpleasant though. A pleased shudder rocked his frame and a happy sigh escaped his mouth. Next he felt the softness around him. It was unlike anything he had ever experienced in his life so far and he idly wondered if this was how clouds felt like. He laughed quietly and with a happy yawn opened his eyes. The area he found himself in was white. White tiles on a pristine white ceiling and wall surrounded him. He sat up and saw that he was lying in a, also white, bed.

 _That's the first time I'm waking up on a bed like Dudleys_ , he realised and he giggled softly. _Though Dudleys bed would probably never ever be this clean_. That realization immediately caused another set of giggling from him.

A mechanical sound to his right got his attention and upon sitting up in his bed revealed a sliding door that he had not noticed until now. A woman and two men entered and Harry couldn't help but stare at their weird choice of clothing.

The woman dressed normally enough; A bright blouse and dark pants beneath a white Lab coat weren't that outlandish after all. A bit strange, since he only ever saw that style of clothing in the rare moments he managed to spy on Dudley when he watched that cartoon shows he seemed to adore so, but quite normal nonetheless.

It were the two men who caught his attention. The one on the right wore a billowing set of brightly colored robes as well as a large pointy hat.

 _Wizard_ , was the first thought that sprung in Harry's mind upon seeing him and he couldn't help but feel that he had seen this gentleman somewhere before already. The long beard and the silvery hair as well as the twinkling blue eyes seemed oddly familiar to him but for the love of God he just couldn't place them.

And the other one wore wallowing black robes as well as parts of golden armor. Oh, and the glowing red eyes and large, pointed ears also were a dead giveaway that this person was not normal at all.

'Freaks', that's how his aunt would have described them and Harry winced slightly upon remembering her ungodly loud screeching in perfect clarity.

"Good to see you in such a good mood, my boy", the old man kindly said upon arriving near his bedside. "We were quite worried for you after all"

"That's quite the understatement", the woman next to him snorted amusedly.

"Though it's not wrong", the man countered, his eyes sparkling with mirth.

Before the woman could formulate a response however, the other man answered. His voice was soft and gentle and reminded Harry of a warm midsummer night's breeze. "Please, Albus, Maria. Shouldn't we first focus on our guest, instead of technicalities?"

"Right", the woman said and quickly cleared her throat. "Now", she said and turned to Harry again, "I would like you to confirm some questions for us. Can you do that?"

Harry nodded mutely, not sure what to think of the arrivals.

"Splendid. So, your name is Harry James Potter, correct?

He nodded again.

"And you currently are 10 years old?"

A third nod. He was ten and more than a half to be precise, but he didn't think that those people would particularly care about that tidbit of information. It's not like anyone else had ever done so before after all.

"And you're living at number 4 Privet Drive, in Britain, right?"

"Yes", he murmured quietly. He had learned long ago that short and precise answers were the least likely ones to provoke any kind of punishment. _The less spoken, the better_ , he remembered.

"Perfect. Now, that the formalities are done for, I am sure that you have a lot of questions to ask" She smiled kindly at him, obviously expecting some kind of reaction, and thus, Harry nodded his head again.

"Now, my name is Maria. And those two fellows are called Albus and Kokabiel" She said while gesturing at the respective men.

"That's a weird name" Harry thought, eliciting a set of guffaws from Albus and an

amused sigh from Kokabiel.

Oh shit! He hadn't meant to say that out loud! Harry shrunk back deeper into his blankets, fearing some kind of reprimand for his rude comment, but the expected punishment never came.

"That's one way of describing it", Kokabiel sighed and shook his head.

"Anyways", Maria said after her own set of giggling had susided. "why don't you just ask all that's on your mind? I bet you could use someone explaining what in Gods name is going on, don't you?"

Harry nodded timidly again, but nonetheless steeled his nerves for the upcoming conversation. A certain apprehension filled him at the thought of just speaking freely. After all the Dursleys drilled it into his head that speaking out of turn was a rather severe offense to them. Especially if _those of his status_ did more than they deserved, as Uncle Vernon often liked to say.

 _They aren't the Dursleys_. Like a lance that thought speared through his thoughts and while certainly not reassuring him completely pushed away enough of his apprehension to finally open his mouth.

"I-I'd like to know where I am please" His voice was soft and quiet and wavered but still he had asked them! A warm feeling wormed its way into his gut and it took a second for him to recognize it; pride. He felt proud! Proud that he overcame his apprehension, proud that he jumped over his shadow, proud that he did something that the Dursleys had forbidden him for as long as he could remember. The woman's, _Maria. Her name is Maria_ , he reprimanded himself, answer called him back into the here and now though.

"First of all, don't worry, we're still in Great Britain. And right now you are in a facility that we call Lab 7"

"Lab 7?", Harry asked.

"One of several government facilities that are tasked with studying and understanding the supernatural world and its inhabitants", Maria provided.

"Uhm... What's a supernatural world?"

Que Kokabiel stepping forward and spreading his arms in a (in Harry's opinion) quite intimidating gesture.

"The supernatural world", he began "is the world that lies beyond that what we call the mortal world. I suppose you are familiar with the term of mythology?"

Harry nodded. "You, you mean the stories about the greek gods and heroes?"

"Yes. I do. Though not only the greek ones. There are a multiude of gods and beings who belong to different groups. Those groups are called a "Pantheon". You see, every religion is its own pantheon. The most well known ones are the christian, norse and greek pantheons of course. But there are countless others. Some are more or less powerful, regarded and worshipped. Do you understand?"

Harry nodded again.

"Good. Now, you have to know; all those pantheons, those religions and deities and stories, all those myths and legends… are real"

"W-what? What do you mean _real_? I-I thought…"

"Yes?"

"I thought, I, I was told… magic isn't real. I mean… how? How can something like that even exist?!?"

Kokabiel chuckled softly "Well, no one knows for sure. It just… was there. If one trusts the numerous prophecies then Magic was there before the beginning, and will still be there after the end"

"The end?", Harry asked.

"Who knows? Magic is equally scientific as it is mysterious"

Maria scoffed. "Magic and scientific, sure", she murmured but went largely ignored by the other 3 occupants of the room.

"Anyways", Kokabiel continued. "The different pantheons and subsequently the deities governing them are real and exist to this very day. And all the other beings, call them monsters and whatnot, exist as well. Be it yokai, devils, satyrs or wizards, they all are very much real. And you, child are one of them as well"

"I… I am?", Harry inquired.

"Why yes", Dumbledore said. "You are a wizard, Harry. As were your parents for that matter"

"They were? But I thought they were good for nothing drunkards…"

A scowl shot over Albus' face but was quickly replaced by something else. Sadness maybe? Or wistfulness? Harry wasn't quite sure.

"My, my, Lily and James, your parents were some of the most promising wizards I've ever met"

"Oh yes, that they were", Kokabiel sighed.

"Then… can, can you tell me about them? Please? I mean… if it doesn't trouble you to do so…" harry cast his eyes down. Surely they would reject him. If the look on Albus face was really sorrow then why would he talk about things that made him sad? But on the other hand, Harry wanted, no, _yearned_ to hear of his parents. His relative never told him anything about them and even threatened him with chores and other punishments for even mentioning them.

"Why, it would be a pleasure Harry", Albus said and smiled fondly.

Harry's head shot up, suprise and joy clearly evident on his face. "You would?"

"Of course" Again Albus smiled sorrowfully but now something else was in there. A joy, bittersweet but oh so delightful. "You must know", the old wizard began "It all started quite some time ago but I remember the day as clear as yesterday. I was sitting in the great hall of Hogwarts, the school of magic that I teach at, and we just started the sorting ceremony. The sorting ceremony you see is…"

 **ItV**

 **Several hours later...**

Harry lay in his bed in Lab 7 and tried to sleep. Emphasis on _tried_ , for there were way too many thoughts cruising around his head. He had listened quite some time to Albus talking about his parents. Not just his parents, mind you, he told Harry quite a bit about this Hogwards place and something called a Diagon Alley as well. Oh and Gringotts. And wizards and magic and spells and many other things. But what stuck most with him were nonetheless his parents.

Apparently they had loved him! Him! So much that they even fought for him! And now we was apparently famous! Now, _that_ was a weird thing. Oh gosh, he hoped that he wouldn't have to sign autographs! His handwriting was terrible! Hopefully the wizards wouldn't hate him if his autographs were ugly. They wouldn't, would they? Harry dearly hoped that would not be the case.

There was just, just, so much to be taken in! In just a few hours time his entire world had been placed upside down! And now he even had a chance of escaping his relatives! He had a future now! A future that wouldn't involve begging or becoming a drunkard like his parents as his relatives had told him numerous times! He could be a wizard like his parents! Or maybe a scientist or scolar like Kokabiel. He didn't know why, but he kind of liked the tall man with the weird name. He had this calming presence and an aura of knowledge that just seemed to hold the answer to all end every of Harry's questions.

Well, there would hopefully be more time to think of all that tomorrow. For now he was tired. Well, not tired per se, but he just wanted to sleep. But he also was so excited about all this new information. Hopefully he wouldn't forget all of that. He wanted to continue to think about it but before he knew his eyes became heavier and heavier and soon he was far gone into the realm of dreams. Dreams filled with wizards and magic, adventures and parents that told him time and time again that they loved him and that everything would be alright.

Little did he know that at the very same time the people he just thought of were conversing about him. And this conversation sadly had little to do with love and safety….

 **ItV**

"So there is truly no way of Harry moving back home in the near future?", Albus asked and tiredly rubbed the bridge of his nose. Oh dear, he could already feel the next headache coming in.

"I'm afraid not", Dr Hill answered somberly. "He is an unknown variable, you see. There is no way of knowing what he will or even could do due to his new status. Whatever his intentions may be, he remains an unknown threat to society and I cannot let him leave in good conscience without having undergone a thorough examination first. Also, should word spread, there is no way to know what certain people might do to get a hold of him"

That this would impede on her studies of Harry was left unsaid, but still clear for all.

"She is right, Albus" Kokabiel interjected. "You know as well as I do that he is currently without an affiliation whatsoever"

"He is a wizard" Albus countered. "So he is one of our society"

"Yes, and what pantheon do most wizards belong to?"

Albus didn't answer right away.

"I know, old friend, I know" Kokabiel placed a hand sympathetically on Albus' shoulder. "If word were to spread of his condition there is no way to say for sure who would try to get hands of him. You might not like him, but your pantheon's leader is still Oberon. And you know what would happen were the fairy king to get wind of Harry"

"I do", Albus answered. While not being a god in his own right, the fairy king Oberon was still technically the leader of what was commonly referred to as the "Merlinese" or "fairy pantheon". A pantheon that was a sub-pantheon to the celtic pantheon who in return had an alliance with the graeco-roman double-pantheon. And they both knew that Oberon had tried time and time again to, albeit very subtly, distance himself and his faction from the aforementioned celtic deities. Someone like Harry, who was both deprived of affection and easily impressionable, would be quite easy to turn into the human weapon he'd need to gain enough power and influence to escabe the celt's grasp.

"Also…", Kokabiel muttered, "You felt it as well, didn't you old friend?"

"I did, yes"

"What? What did you feel?", Maria asked, feeling quite out of her depth here.

"Within Harry rests something else. An artifact commonly referred to as a sacred gear", Albus said.

"What does that have to with…" Maria started but Kokabiel interrupted her.

"Sacred gears are a blessing from the Lord. In other word, the leader of the christian pantheon"

Marias eyes grew wide.

"Yes", Kokabiel sighed. "If Oberon could know of Harry's existence then so could numerous other pantheons as well. And due to Harry possessing an, albeit dormant, sacred gear, Heaven would have a valid reason to lay claim to him. Though due to Harry also being born a wizard, the fairies, and subsequently the celts, would surely reject. Should Heaven try to get him through violence (which they will), then this would mean war. On one side the celts, and their allies, the greek and roman double-pantheon, on the other Heaven and their allies. And trust me, should heaven decide to get involved in this mess, then the devils of Hell, as well as my own leader Azazel wouldn't sit quietly by the side. They'd see their chance to damage their mortal enemies as well. And then you'd also have all the pantheons who still hold a grdge against the christians for having become the worlds most prominent religion on the cost of their own worshippers. The spanish conquerors of south america and consequently the near anihilation of the Mictlanese, also known as the south american pantheon among numerous others. This war would be the chance to take revenge that they've been waiting for centuries for. You see, the chance of this becoming an all-out war would be enormous. And then you'd have all the other pantheons as well, who'd just wait for that mess to end and then taking out the survivors for claiming the spoils for themselves."

"But… all that, for one child?" Maria couldn't believe it.

"Oh no, not at all. Harry would just be the spark to ignite the powder keg, so to speak", Albus answered.

"So Harry will remain here", Maria said.

"Until his powers can be sealed, removed or cured, yes", Kokabiel said.

"It is imperative that knowledge of Harry never leaves this facility. The results would be more than disastrous", Albus concluded.

Kokabiel and Maria nodded gravely.

"Well, I will see what I can do", Albus said. "Perhaps I'll make it public that Harry has been moved somewhere else to be trained for his future education. America, perhaps?"

"Heh, right into the greek influence area? Why not put him directly into Manhattan when we're at it? Right under the olympian's nose?", Kokabiel mocked.

"Well, hiding in plain sight and all that. Also, do you have a better idea?", Albus countered.

The fallen deflated shook his head. "I don't. As long as I can come over to study him once in a while, I won't interfere at all with whatever your plans are, old friend. And, the more I am allowed to research, the less likely is the chance of me letting the existence of accidently Harry slip in front of Azazel"

"No need for threats, old friend", Albus sighed but ultimately had no other choice but to agree to Kokabiels terms.

"So it's settled then", Maria said and clapped in her hands. "Harry will remain here. Under guard and closely watched, until we find a solution. Any objections?"

Both Kokabiel and Albus shook their heads.

What other choice did they have after all? Either that or risking a massive war with indiscernible outcome, save for the death of millions, if not more.

 _Poor Harry,_ Albus thought. _I can't help but wonder if it would've all been easier had Voldemort and the prophecy been you only problems..._

 ** _YOOOO, guess who's alive bitchesss! No, jk, I'm sorry for the long, long pause. This chapter was a pain in the ass to write and I simply had no frickin idea how to go on from here! *sigh* Anyways, I'm over it, it's finished, and dare I say, Im quite proud! Also, seems I got my first flame hahaha. Man, what a retard, prolly hasn't even read past chap one and still decides to bitch about things that make no fckn sense._**

 ** _Anyways, I hope y'all enjoy the chapter and lets hope the next one wont take ahlf a year to write xD_**

 ** _Also, rewievs do a wonder for motivating for writing faster lol._**

 ** _See ya next time!_**


	7. Chapter6

**Chapter Six**

 **Three months after the extraction**

 **Six days before all hell broke loose**

It was a beautiful day. The wind was warm and caressed his face. The bright blue summer-sky was dotted here and there with the occasional cloud and in the distance the sea glittered in a wonderful deep shade of blue. The sun's light broke itself in the waves and sparkled with the beauty of a hundred diamonds.

Harry was in a dream. He knew this the very moment he saw the scenery before him. He knew this because he had been having this recurring dream every night since he came out of that cocoon. Every night he would dream of the landscape by the sea. He would stand there, enjoy the scenery, look up, and would see a flock of birds flying over him. He would take a step. In which direction did not matter. The feeling of falling would encompass him. And then he would wake up.

He took a deep breath. The air smelled fresh and clean. Innumerable flavors filled it but Harry tried to take them all in, like always. He prepared to look up and end the dream. As always.

But that day, something different happened. The rustling of leaves caught his attention. He slowly turned his head. Trees of massive size towered above him. Lush green foliage covered the ground, and a cacophony of sounds reached his ears. Birds were thrilling, insects buzzing and chirping. A distant roar could be heard and a bunch of monkeys screamed at each other happily. He was amazed. This had never happened before! He turned around completely and fazed the jungle's edge. Wait, what was that? Something had moved! Something sneaked through the foliage, still and silent. Then, a shriek. Something roared in pain. Something big by the sound of it. He squinted his eyes and strained to see from his vantage point. He didn't take a step, in fear of risking this special dream. Something smashed, no flew through the bushes and came to a stop right beside him. It was big, easily as big as him. White fur covered the thing and it wore strange straps and garbs a around its body.

Suddenly, it jerked, and gracefully jumped up. A menacing growl escaped it's throat and it punched the ground in something akin to frustration.

Harry studied it with eyes as wide as saucers. It was covered from head to toe in white fur, though a lot of it was marred with dirt, mud and _was that dried blood?_

It stood on two legs, but it wasn't human at all. Its head looked like that of a lion and it's mane was bound in braids that fell over its shoulders and down its back. Harry gasped in surprise, as it sniffed the air and suddenly turned around to face him. It stared at him, not over him, or through him, but directly at him.

A low growl escaped its throat.

Harry just stared.

Another growl. But this one… it sounded different. Higher pitched at the end, just like… like a question.

Harry still merely stared at it dumbfoundedly.

 _Weird_ , a distant corner of his mind realized _You fought IT, and even saw THEM, but something like a mere vastaya leaves you in awe?_

 _Wait, where had this thought come from?_

"Raagraaa!", the beast, no, the vastaya - _huh, strange word_ \- shouted at him. Surprised and, admittedly also a bit unnerved, Harry reacted on instinct and made a step back.

No!, he realized, and tried to stop himself. But it was already too late; it took only a few moments for the dream to slip away. The trees, the cliffs, the sea and even the sky turned to a yellowish golden colour and were blown away like a column of sand.

The unpleasant feeling of falling made his stomach lurch and with a gasp he awoke.

Panting he sat up in his bed. Sweat marred his forehead and his heart raced. Disappointment filled him, at the prospect that the dream was over, though it was quickly squashed by exhilaration. He had seen something different! Something exciting! How awesome was that! Sure it was strange, but it broke the monotony!

He fell back into his pillows and a happy smile stretched across his face. Finally something that broke his mental monotony. Having the exact same dream without fault night after night for weeks on end was bound to drive everyone insane eventually.

He closed his eyes and tried to sleep again, only to find that he couldn't. He threw a look at the watch besides his bed.

6:48 AM it said.

"Whatever", Harry grumbled, his earlier exhilaration gone as fast as a piece of ice in the desert. "Only 10 Minutes till the morning-inspection. Could as well get up then"

He sat up and looked around the room he was in. White tiles covered ceiling, floor and walls and gave the whole room a rather bright atmosphere. There wasn't much furniture. Only his bed, a drawer with various pencils and papers strewn on top and the poor imitation of a window on one wall. A vain effort to give him the feeling that he was located in an actual room, rather than in a secret underground facility. A door left to his bed lead to a small bathroom filled with a shower and various cleaning articles. While some may have wondered how or even why a 10-year-old child was living alone in such an environment, one has to know that Harry, forced due to his circumstances was a rather mature child in this regards. Of course he was still a child, and thus naturally laughed about things like fart-noises, or puns the same as any other child his age. But there were differences, very subtle differences, mind you, that showed his actual mental age. And, he was never really alone. The cameras concealed in the furniture and walls making sure to record his every move.

But enough of this bleak thoughts. After all, this room was way better than living in a spider infested cupboard under the stairs.

Harry yawned vocally and after tasting the typical, but unpleasant taste of sleep in his mouth decided he should probably get his toothbrush. Thus he rubbed his eyes, pushed back his blanket, swung his legs out of the bed and-

-fell flat on his nose.

A deep intake of breath and a long and very annoyed sigh could be heard as Harry lied on the floor. He pushed himself up and sat up on his butt. Or, at least that what was still left of his butt.

A huge purplish brown tail jutted out of his abdomen, in place of where his legs would normally be. Five pairs of insectoid legs clicked against each other uselessly in the air. Harry tilted his head while he mustered his new appendage. In a way it resembled a grotesque version of a mermaids tail, just that he now possessed carapace and legs instead of scales and fins.

This wasn't the first time things like this had happened though. In the weeks since his awakening he often woke up with changed appendages. Be them hands that turned into claws, fur on his skin or random spikes jutting out of his body, waking up with body parts like this had become a rather normal occurrence for him. (Hell, apparently he even woke up from the cocoon with such a transformation active on his body. Though why he didn't remember anything about having felt this he did not know.) After some minutes they would retract into his skin, and his body would change itself back to normal anyways.

The first time the changes happened he was afraid and filled with panic. After all, a fundamental part of him had been utterly changed. And after the first few changes had reversed themselves time and time again, Harry even grew to be somewhat fond of them, awaiting the next one with a mixture of morbid curiosity and excitement.

Still, sitting on the floor was bound to become uncomfortable, and thus, Harry hieved himself up on his bed and waited.

It was around maybe ten minutes later that the door to his room hissed open and a multitude of people entered his room.

He recognized them all immediately. On the right was Doctor Maria Hill. Having her brown hair tied up into her trademark bun she send him a small and encouraging smile. He didn't know why but her presence always seemed to calm him. She was just and nice, but as soon as she put on her "Leader-of-Lab-7"-persona she could be as strict as his aunt Petunia was. Next to her were Doctor Jim Crowns and his wife, Theresa Crowns, the local psychiatrists. Next to them was the petite form of Jill. The pink haired woman was the Lab's local biochemist and was the one in charge of researching his peculiar shape-shifting abilities. And last, but not least, standing on Jill's left side was Aragran. The green haired devil towered easily over the others, his muscles bulging visibly even beneath his lab coat. If Harry ever had to describe a gentle giant, then this was who he would present as the prime example. Being a devil Aragran was by far the strongest person in the entire facility, though he couldn't even hurt a fly. They all knew why he was always with someone when they decided to visit Harry.

So _that in case something happens, he can protect them. Protect them from me_ , Harry thought somberly.

But enough of this dark thoughts! Today was a special day! Or, that was what Dr Hill had told him yesterday at least.

Dr Hill cleared her throat and thus quickly pulled Harry's thoughts into the here and now again.

"Now, I assume you already know why we came here today, but I thought it a nice gesture to do so anyways", Hill said. Upon seeing the boys blank look she clarified. "It's the 31st of July today"

Harry continued to stare at her in bewilderment.

"Your birthday. I was told today is your birthday Harry. Or could it be that I'm mistaken here?"

Harry's eyes widened. _So that's why she's here_ , he thought. _But, why did she remember? My fam- no! They are not my family! Aragran said that families are supposed to love and protect each other. Those, those people definitely never did that. I refuse to acknowledge them as part of me!_

"And, since you're eleven years of age now, I thought, that you deserve to know what's going to happen now, as well as in the future with you", she continued, seemingly oblivious to Harry's inner turmoil.

Now _that_ definitely caught Harry's attention. Of course he was already told what was wrong with him. After all, most kids his age did most certainly not sprout random extremities seemingly overnight. Though why exactly he had to stay inside the laboratory all the time was a mystery even to him.

"I know", Hill said, "that you're itching to know what's going on, and why you weren't allowed to go outside all this time."

Harry nodded.

"Well, do you want the short answer, or the long one?"

"Uhm", Harry murmured. After all this time he was still a very introverted and some would even say shy child. "I'd like both ones, please"

Maria nodded sagely. "A good answer. Well, the short version is, that you're different than other people, and that makes you dangerous because until recently we didn't know how you'd react to the outside."

Mulled the answer over in his head. That was indeed quite short. "And the long version?", he asked quietly.

"Well, to be blunt, there is something inside you. Something that makes you different and unpredictable and we didn't really know to what extent this danger goes. The things you told us, the things you've seen and experienced are not normal at all. Actually I'd say that they're the farthest thing from it. And you were changed by that. You never forget a thing, no matter how small it may be. You think and analyze things at a level and speed far superior to any other beings we know of. And,", she gestured to his abdomen which had slowly but surely begun to change back into its normal human shape, "you can change your body. It even seems those changes specifically increase in both intensity as well as accuracy based on the things you ingest. Remember that one time when you woke up with those horns on you forehead, which didn't go away for nearly a week?"

How could he? That experience was both equally scary and cool. Jill even had said _Now you look more akin to a devil than Aragran here._

"The reason behind that is that you ate copious amounts of meat prior to that. How many helpings of beef did you have that evening again? Was it five? Or six?" Maria put a finger to her lips in mock thought.

Harry blushed and looked to the floor.

"After that we continued to mix DNA, that's basically a lifeforms essence; into the things you ate. And, according to what you ingested your appendages changed"

"So", Harry began. "That's why I'm not allowed to go outside? Because you guys are afraid I'll eat people?"

Maria and her team exchanged a long, poignant look.

"No, that's not it", Dr Hill answered. "The actual reason is that there are people out there who would love nothing more than to use you and the powers you possess. Those people are dangerous and most importantly, powerful. Very, very powerful in fact"

"And why are you telling me this? Wouldn't I be better off no knowing that stuff? Mister Dumbledore said that wizards can read someones minds after all…"

 _Kid's sharp, I'll give him that_ , Maria thought. Outwardly however she said: "Well, I'm a firm believer that, in order to avoid a danger, one has to _know_ that said danger exists"

Harry cocked his head in the universal sign of confusion.

"We, that is the crew of lab 7 and I that is, decided to give you a present. I know it's not much. But we came to the conclusion that, once a year, at your birthday, one of us is gonna take you out of here and to a place you'd like to visit for the day. I know it's not much, but it's the best I can offer you at the moment I'm afraid"

Harry stayed silent for a long time. Then, quick as a flash he darted out of the bed and hugged the doctor tightly. "Thank you", he muttered. "That you, thank you, thankyou thankyouthankyouthankyou"

Maria, clearly unused to such a display of childlike emotion, awkwardly hugged him back and patted his back. "You're welcome", she said and not for the first time she wondered how much the neglect of his family seemed to have marked him.

 **ItV**

A few hours later Harry, completely decked with a magical disguise to conceal the large purple gash across his face as well as new and (in his humble opinion rather fancy clothes; a jeans and a blue T-Shirt), accompanied by Aragran, found himself in the middle of downtown London. He couldn't help but stare around himself in amazement and wonder. Everything was just so, so, more! He if asked he'd not be able to describe it really. The sounds were "louder", the colours were "brighter", the smells were "smellier", everything just felt so… _more_! The inside of lab 7 must have been insanely clean and sterile for him to just not smell anything there. Dr Hill definitely didn't ly when she'd told him that he was different now. What she didn't say though was how good it felt! Screw normality, screw mediocrity, _this_ was truly worth living for. Even the ever present pressure that seemed to lay on his mind since he'd stepped out of the lab seemed insignificant now!

He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Aragran smiling down at him. "If it gets too much to handle and ya need a time out, tell me, okay?"

Harry nodded and continued to gaze around in wonder.

"Well, let's get going okay?" Aragran asked and started to walk down the street, his hand clasped protectively around Harry's. For a while, they walked around like that. Whenever something evoked Harry's interest they do a small detour and checked it out. whether it'd be pigeons feasting on some crumbs, a particular smell in the air or just a sparkling store window, Aragran would stop at everything and wait till Harrys curiosity would be sated. And whenever Harry asked to investigate something new, and when Aragran then grinned and replied with a cheerful "Of course we can!" a tiny, but nonetheless brilliantly happy smile would bloom on Harry's face. A smile so full of joy that Aragran would never forget it until the day he died.

 **ItV**

The sun was already hanging low in the sky and had painted the clouds in a vibrant shade of red and pink when it happened. Though no one would have thought that this encounter would be one, if not _the_ one moment, to change Harry's life in a most drastic way. Of course, like with a great many of such instances the connection between cause and effect would only be much, much later become clear to young Harry. It all started with four simple words uttered by Aragran;

"I have to pee" he had said. "Mind if we search a public loo and I use it real quick?"

Of course, polite and thankful as he was Harry wouldn't have dreamt to ever deny the kind devil a request of any kind, and. thus he had agreed.

And that's why, when Harry was waiting in front of the "pee-house", as he had called it in his head, it happened. The first thing he noticed about her wasn't her wild mane of fiery red hair, or the the dark dress that seemed to be made out of carred leaves. Nor her quiet humming as she studied a colorful pamphlet in her hands or the small, translucent fluttering little wings on her back. No, what he noticed about her was her… for the lack of a better term, her aura. Something in the air around her seemed … off. Not in a bad way, mind you. But he smelled something that had definitely not been in the air before. It was a peculiar mix of fresh air after a midsummer rain and pure, unadulterated cinnamon. Only much later would he learn that it was magic, the very essence of the spiritual power that permeated the earth and all of its inhabitants in one way or another, that he had smelled there.

Upon noticing the smell he looked up and locked in his eyes on her. And she, as if she had felt his gaze like a physical force latching unto her, looked back. Red eyes that were tinted with a multitude of orange shades at the edge flicked up to him and dismissively back to her pamphlet. Then she seemed to make a double take and froze. Looked him over again. Her eyes narrowed and she swiftly walked up to him.

"What're you looking at?" she said. And quickly added "Punk" to the end of her sentence as though she had forgotten it.

"N-nothing"; Harry quickly replied, embarrassed about being caught staring at somebody.

"Oh yeah? So I'm nothin then? That what ya wanted to say? Punk?"

"Uhm", Harry was kind of at a loss for words.

"Hey!", she hissed and snapped her fingers in rapid succession in front of his face. "I asked ya sumthin, I want an answer! Punk" Again she added that "punk" at the end. Weird.

"W-well, uhm" Harry stuttered, "you smell weird"

"Excuse me? I do _what now_?" oh crap, she seemed pissed! _Fast, do something!_

"Y-you smell weird", Harry said quickly again. "Like rain. A-and cinnamon"

Peculiarly upon hearing this her rage disappeared just as quickly as it came.

"Oh? Like cinnamon, you say? So that means that you're supernatural too, right?"

"Uhm, yeah, I guess…", Harry scratched the back of his neck nervously. _Where the heck was Aragran please?_ "I'm pretty new at this whole magic-thing, though"

The girl tilted her head. "Magic-thing? Oh, so you're a wizard?"

Harry nodded. That was what the Misters Dumbledore and Kokabiel had said to him after all.

"Well, that's pretty cool. I don't know any wizard at all! Well, now I do. Im Amia by the way. What's your name?"

Harry looked down to where she had stretched her hand out, obviously expecting him to shake it. So, he did. A weird tingle raced up his spine upon touching her though judging from her lack of reaction she didn't seem to have felt anything at all.

"I'm Harry", he said. "Harry Potter. Nice to meet you, Amia"

She smiled. "Likewise. Say, do you live around here? I can show you around this whole magic-thing if you want"

"Uhm, that would be cool", Harry said, retracting his hand after having shaken hers. "But I live pretty remotely. I don't know when I'll be around here the next time"

"Oh, yeah, I get what you mean. My family lives pretty far away as well. But I often hang out in the parks around Big Ben during the summer. You know, the big clocktower?"

"Yeah, I know it"

"Great! I have to be going, but I hope I'll see you around Harry!" a cheery wave later and she was lost in the masses of people walking down the streets.

Damn! Now he hadn't asked her what those wings on her back were! Mah, no matter. He'd just do it the next time he'd be in the city, no matter what! That he vowed to himself solemnly while he continued to wait for Aragran. _Seriously, how LONG could a person be peeing please?!?_

 **ItV**

 **Later that evening**

 **Unknown forest somewhere in Ireland**

 _Harry Potter_ … for some reason Amia felt like she had heard this name before somewhere, though for the love of Nuada she couldn't remember when or in what context.

Mah, no matter, she was sure the memory would come back to her again. And if not… well, she could always ask her uncle Oberon. He'd know it for sure. He always knew lots of weird stuff that was going on out there in the worlds after all.

Speaking of weird… this Harry kid had something on him that seemed off. She couldn't quite put her finger on it but something about him felt twisted and warped and like it didn't belong here. To be honest the more she thought about it the more she doubted that this, this _thing_ on (or _in_ him?) could belong anywhere at all.

She tapped her lip and nodded. Yup, she'd definitely tell uncle Oberon about this. He'd surely like to know about that. After all, this Harry was a wizard and all wizards were her uncle's servants, weren't they?

 **ItV**

 **Welp, that's it for today! Finally got this written down, so that in the next chapters we can finally move to all the fun stuff.**

 **For those who wonder; yes, Amia is an OC and no, don't worry she won't play a huge part in the story (at least according to what I've planned so far). So don't get your panties in a twist guys :)**

 **Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, read and review and see y'all next time!**

 **Halariel, out!**


End file.
